Afghanistan

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether studies have been carried out on the types of explosives used in improvised explosive devices used against British troops in Afghanistan; and, if so, what percentage are made of weapons-grade munitions as opposed to other materials such as agricultural fertiliser.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Our analysis and assessment of the threat posed by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan continues to receive the highest priority. This work includes technical studies and informs UK measures including force protection. It is not departmental policy to comment further on this type of work, in order not to prejudice operational security.

Afghanistan

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many improvised explosive devices have been used against British troops in Afghanistan in each year since 2001; how many were victim-initiated; and how many enemy-detonated.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Records of incidents for the whole of Afghanistan are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	Data is more readily available for attacks within Regional Command (South), which includes the vast majority of UK forces deployed to Afghanistan.
	There are no records held for the years 2001 and 2002, however the table below shows all recorded improvised explosive device detonations in Regional Command (South) from 2003 to the end of May 2009.
	
		
			 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 (Jan-May) 
			 5 59 133 258 530 1003 418 
		
	
	These figures do not include improvised explosive device finds with no detonation or improvised explosive device false alarms. These data are based on information derived from a number of sources and can only be an estimate, not least because of the difficulties in ensuring a consistent interpretation of the basis of collating statistics in a complex fast-moving multinational operational environment.
	I am withholding the information on the initiation mechanism of these detonations as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Agriculture: Mountain Farming

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government which areas of the United Kingdom they expect will be included in the paper on mountain farming which European Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has announced will be published this year.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The exact scope and focus of the paper on mountain farming proposed by Commissioner Fischer Boel is not yet clear. Currently, no land in the UK falls under the mountain areas designation under Council Regulation (EC) 1257/1999.

Air Rescue Service

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision exists for air rescue services in Northern Ireland; whether air rescue is available from Scotland and the Republic of Ireland; and how much was paid to the Republic of Ireland for any such support in 2008.

Lord Adonis: Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter cover for Northern Ireland is provided by the Ministry of Defence. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) Belfast Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) can call on the helicopter coverage from the bases at Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) Prestwick in Scotland and the Royal Air Force (RAF) Valley in Wales.
	The coastguards at Belfast MRCC can request the assistance of the Irish coastguard helicopters based at Sligo and Dublin. The MCA made no payments to the Republic of Ireland for SAR services in 2008.

Airports: Heathrow

Baroness Hanham: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord West of Spithead on 1 June (WA 1), what action they propose to take to meet concerns of the Independent Monitoring Board for Heathrow Airport that there is a "deep seated negative attitude" towards those detained in immigration custody at the airport.

Lord West of Spithead: The UK Border Agency and its contractors place a great deal of emphasis on the welfare of detainees, and have therefore considered the views of the Independent Monitoring Board carefully. G4S Care and Justice Services, the contractor for managing holding rooms, has initiated a comprehensive service improvement plan to operate in parallel with that produced by the UK Border Agency, including an even greater focus on welfare.
	A programme of one-to-one training has been implemented for all the contractor's staff, a new documented detainee induction process has been introduced and managers are more visible. The Independent Monitoring Board has since reported significant improvement in the attitude by staff towards detainees.

Armed Forces: Cyprus Accommodation

Lord Morris of Aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Government of Cyprus have carried out their obligations as regards the Ledra Palace Hotel in Cyprus where British troops are based; when Ministers last visited the base; and what assessment they have made of the standard of accommodation there.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The renovation and refurbishment of the Ledra Palace Hotel continues as part of an agreed three-year programme between 2007 and 2010 between the Republic of Cyprus and the UN. All work on the external fabric of the building is complete providing a watertight structure. All roofs have now been repaired and/or replaced, the fire detection and alarm systems have been installed, asbestos removal in the boiler rooms and cellars is complete, the floor covering in the gymnasium has been replaced and the ration store refurbished. The recommissioning of rooms in the west wing is complete and a total of 35 rooms have been handed over to the UN Forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP). HQ UNFICYP has constant oversight of the works and are responsible for monitoring the progress. They are content with both the pace and standard of the work completed to date. Current plans estimate that renovation work will be complete by around the end of 2010, and will meet accommodation standards for members of the Armed Forces in the UK.
	The last visit made by a Minister was in December 2008, by the Secretary of State for Defence when he was the Minister for the Armed Forces.

Armed Forces: Helicopters

Lord Astor of Hever: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have considered installing single crystal turbine blades. [HL
	 Question number missing in Hansard, possibly truncated question.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: Single crystal turbine blades are one of a number of ways of improving the performance and durability of helicopter engines and they are fitted to our Apache and Merlin Mk3/3a helicopters. Single crystal blade technology was considered for use on the Chinook T55 engine but was discounted following trials which indicated limited benefit. We continue to keep technology to improve engine performance and durability under review.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government to which countries they do not return failed asylum seekers because they might be ill-treated on their return.

Lord West of Spithead: There are no countries to which the Government has a blanket approach of not returning failed asylum seekers for safety reasons.
	Each asylum and human rights claim is considered on its individual merits in accordance with our international obligations and taking full account of conditions in the country concerned as they impact on the individual. Those found to be in need of international protection are provided with it. The United Kingdom also fulfils its obligations under the UNHCR Gateway programme.
	Failed asylum seekers of all nationalities who have been found by the Home Office and the appeals process not to be in need of international protection and have no legal basis of stay in the UK are expected to return to their country of origin and may have their removal enforced.

Autism

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Morgan of Drefelin on 29 June (WA 2), what progress the Secretary of State has made in investigating the complaint in relation to Essex County Council's failure properly to discharge its duties in the case of Henry Spiller.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: A letter has been sent to the Executive Director for Schools, Children and Family Services at Essex County Council requesting details of the content and purpose of the authority's contacts with health professionals in this case.
	This information will assist the Secretary of State in reaching a decision on whether to exercise his powers to direct the authority under Sections 496 and 497 of the Education Act 1996.
	Henry's parents are being kept informed of progress.

Aviation: Air Passenger Duty

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received from governments in the Caribbean region about their plans to introduce a new banding system for air passenger duty; and how they have responded to those representations.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the new banding system for air passenger duty was assessed for its impact on equality prior to its announcement; and whether the Equality and Human Rights Commission was consulted on it.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government why the new banding system for air passenger duty charges more for flights to the Caribbean than for flights to the west coast of the United States.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact of the new banding system for air passenger duty on British residents with friends and family in the Caribbean; and whether they have considered the effect on such persons and on carbon emissions of replacing the duty with a tax on each plane based on the actual distance travelled.

Lord Myners: In January 2008, the Government publicly consulted on proposals to replace air passenger duty (APD) with a per plane tax. These proposals, which included a new banding system, were accompanied by the appropriate impact assessment, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
	Following consultation, the Government decided not to proceed with a per-plane tax, but instead to reform APD to create a new distance banded system. Further details can be found in the response to consultation published alongside the PBR. A copy of this document has been deposited in the Library of the House.
	Ticketing systems are mainly based on national territories, and as such it is straightforward to base the tax on countries. The capital city is the most coherent and principled proxy. Calls for the tax to be based on the exact distance of flights, rather than distance to capital, would result in a more complex administrative system. In addition to the issues around administrative simplicity, such a system might be so closely linked to fuel consumption as to raise questions about legality.
	In line with Better Regulation Executive Office guidance, HMRC conducted an impact assessment of the new banding system and published it on its website (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ria/apd-reform-ia.pdf). The assessment, which has been deposited in the Library of the House, states that changes to APD are not expected to have any significant impacts on race, disability, gender or human rights.
	Government Ministers have responded to a number of representations from governments in the Caribbean, explaining the Government's decision on the reforms of air passenger duty announced at PBR 2008.

Banking

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's premise in its June report that £130 billion extra will need to be put into the United Kingdom banking system to assist recovery.

Lord Myners: The comprehensive package announced last October was designed to ensure the stability of the financial system and to protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers. The action taken, including the recapitalisation scheme, prevented the collapse of the banking system.
	Under the recapitalisation scheme, the Government have to date invested a total of £37 billion in the Lloyds Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. There will be further investment alongside their participation in the asset protection scheme. The Government have undertaken a range of other measures to ensure stability in the financial system, including the credit guarantee scheme, the special liquidity scheme and the asset protection scheme itself.
	The Government will continue to do whatever it takes to maintain financial stability.

Banking: Bank of Scotland

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of employees of the Royal Bank of Scotland stand to receive a pension of more than £16,500.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average pension entitlement of employees of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of salary is contributed to the Royal Bank of Scotland pension fund by the Bank and by its employees.

Lord Myners: Pensions arrangements in private companies are a contractual matter between employer and employee with decisions taken by scheme trustees within a set legislative framework. The pension arrangements within RBS are a matter for the bank's management.
	The banks in which the Government are a shareholder are being managed on a commercial and arms length basis by UK Financial Investments Ltd (UKFI), a company which is wholly owned by the Government. The overarching objectives for UKFI are to protect and create value for the taxpayer as shareholder with due regard to the maintenance of financial stability and to act in a way that promotes competition.
	The framework document agreed between HM Treasury and UKFI sets a requirement that UKFI will not intervene in the day-to-day management decisions of investee companies.

Banking: Bonuses

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what legislative response they are planning to prevent the payment of excessive bonuses by banks.

Lord Myners: The Government have made clear that the banking industry must develop sustainable long-term remuneration policies to prevent excessive risk-taking, both in the UK and internationally.
	The FSA has published a code of practice on remuneration, which it intends to add to the FSA handbook. The consultation on the code recently closed and the FSA is reviewing responses with a view to having the code in place for firms' 2009 remuneration processes. The Chancellor announced, in the paper Reforming Financial Markets, published on 8 July 2009, that he has asked the FSA to provide an annual report on remuneration practices, including compliance by firms with the new code.
	Sir David Walker's review of the corporate governance of UK banks and other financial institutions is looking at the incentives to manage risk in remuneration policy. The Government welcomed Sir David's consultation document, which was published on 16 July and included recommendations on the setting, structure and disclosure of remuneration. The Government will consider carefully his proposals and options for implementing them.
	The Government, through these initiatives, is providing guidance on standards of discipline in corporate governance and remuneration that will provide a framework for action by market participants, leading to stronger market discipline on the part of boards of directors and shareholders. Neither the work of the FSA or the Walker review is intended to dictate the quantum of remuneration, either for individuals or at the level of groups or institutions. This remains a matter for boards of directors, under the oversight of their shareholders.

Bloody Sunday Inquiry

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 9 July (WA 163), whether they will publish a breakdown of the £188 million incurred in connection with the Bloody Sunday inquiry.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: I will write to the noble Lord and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Bonuses

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they propose measures to tackle any negligence on the part of shareholders, at annual general meetings and other times, in granting excessive remuneration to directors and in nominating members of remuneration committees.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The appointment and remuneration of directors is a matter for companies and their shareholders. The Government have consistently made clear the importance of linking pay to performance over the long term and that exceptional rewards for mediocre performance are not in the interests of companies, their shareholders or the UK as a whole.
	Sir David Walker's review of the corporate governance of banks and the Financial Reporting Council's review of the combined code on corporate governance are both looking at shareholder engagement with companies. The Government will be paying close attention to their conclusions.

British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat has cost in each year since its creation; and what are the projections for the next two financial years.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The cost of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat is met by two Governments. The total cost to the British Government for the last eight years is shown in the following table. Costs for 1999-2001 are no longer held.
	
		
			 Financial Year BIIGS Costs 
			 2001-02 £554,000 
			 2002-03 £544,941 
			 2003-04 £524,594 
			 2004-05 £590,195 
			 2005-06 £530,096 
			 2006-07 £571,616 
			 2007-08 £673,096 
			 2008-09 £719,997 
			 2009-10 £670,000 
			 2010-11 £670,000

British-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership

Lord Janner of Braunstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will announce the results of the first round of applications to the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership.

Lord Drayson: The results of the first round of applications to the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership are expected to be announced in the autumn.

British-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership

Lord Janner of Braunstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions the Secretary of State for Universities and Skills has had with his Israeli counterparts on the possibility of expanding the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership scheme.

Lord Drayson: There have been no discussions with the Israeli Government about an expansion of the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX) scheme. The first academic awards for the scheme are now due to be announced in the autumn.

Broadcasting: Analogue Radios

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Carter of Barnes on 30 June (WA 30-31), what assessment they have made of the domestic reception of digital radio broadcasting in Northern Ireland, the time taken to warm up digital radios and their signal reception.

Lord Carter of Barnes: The Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG)* looked closely at digital audio broadcasting (DAB) current and planned coverage across the UK. One of the key purposes of the work of the group was to provide momentum to encourage digital radio rollout. This has continued with the Digital Britain White Paper.
	Figures provided by the DRWG's Spectrum Group at the end of 2008 showed that 87.6 per cent** of the population in Northern Ireland are able to receive DAB. We acknowledge there is a short delay when switching on some DAB radio sets. This is caused by the processor "powering up" in much the same way as a computer does.
	There have been discussions between broadcasters and manufacturers about improving the reception of DAB sets. I expect this to continue in the future to improve the reception of sets further.
	*The DRWG was established in November 2007 by the Secretary of State to consider digital radio in the UK.
	**The figure of 87.6 per cent population coverage of DAB in Northern Ireland is based on BBC Radio 2's coverage. Radio 2's FM coverage in Northern Ireland is 98.3 per cent.

Building Regulations

Baroness Greengross: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the revised Part G of the building regulations will fully incorporate British Standard 6465 in relation to equal provision of toilets for men and women in offices.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The scale of toilet provision in different building types that are workplaces is in the first instance a matter for the Health and Safety Executive's Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) that supports the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. The guidance in approved document G (sanitation, hot water safety and water efficiency) therefore makes reference to the need to be in accordance with the minimum levels of provision set out in the ACOP. However, it also explains that further guidance on the provision of toilets is set out in British Standard 6465 for those building types not covered by the ACOP or where someone wishes to provide more than the minimum recommended.

Children: ASBOs

Baroness Walmsley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to conduct an independent review of the application of anti-social behaviour orders to children.

Lord West of Spithead: Although the Home Office is not conducting an independent review of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) given to children, a consortium of research institutions have been commissioned to undertake an evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of interventions to address anti-social behaviour.
	Results from this evaluation are due to report in 2010. The evaluation will look at anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), but does not focus on young people, as we are aware of research being carried out by other research bodies that are looking at the impact of anti-social behaviour interventions on young people.
	We have provided written guidance for anti-social behaviour practitioners and a practitioners' advice line manned by experts in the field and website. We have also held a series of workshops around the country to help practitioners make the best use of the tools and powers. In addition, we have also introduced legislation to require a one-year review period for ASBOs on young people which was formally built into best practice in the latest Home Office guidance issued in August 2006. This was implemented on 1 February 2009.

Children: Custody

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the Prison Reform Trust's finding that the number of children remanded in custody while awaiting trial has increased by 41 per cent in the last seven years; and what is their response to each of the 12 points in the action plan suggested by the trust to reduce the numbers.

Lord Bach: We welcome the Prison Reform Trust's report and its contribution to this difficult issue of the numbers of young people being remanded into custody. The decision on whether to grant bail or remand a defendant to custody is one for the courts to make, in each case, in line with the statutory framework primarily set out in the Bail Act 1976. Data provided by the Youth Justice Board indicate that, over the past seven years, there has been a 10 per cent decrease in the number of young people remanded into custody.
	
		
			 Young people remanded in custody or to secure conditions 2002-2008 
			 Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 
			 Total 5,638 5,513 5,721 5,605 5,512 5,368 5,102 
		
	
	Officials are meeting representatives from the Prison Reform Trust shortly to discuss the report's findings and recommendations and consider how we can take the issues forward.

Children: Independent Representatives

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether children without parental care are given an independent representative to defend their best interests in the education system.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: "Parent" under the education Acts includes anyone who has parental responsibility and, for most purposes, anyone who has care of a child. There should therefore be no children without a "parent" with the possible exception of some young people aged 16 and over who are deemed to be capable of defending their own interests, with appropriate support.
	For children who are looked after by the local authority (ie who may not have a birth parent who is able or willing to act in their interests), the Government have put in place a range of measures to ensure that their best interests are defended in the education system. The local authority has a specific duty to promote the child's educational achievement. It must also ensure that each looked-after child has a care plan, which must include a personal education plan developed with the designated teacher for looked-after children at the child's school (see below). The plan must be kept under regular review (at least every six months) and an independent reviewing officer (IRO) must be appointed to monitor the review process. The reviews look at the appropriateness of the child's education plan to ensure that it promotes their educational achievement. If the IRO has concerns that the local authority is in breach of its duties to the child or that the child's rights are being breached by the authority or any other person or body (including the child's school), then he has power to refer the child's case to CAFCASS (the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) for consideration of legal proceedings to obtain redress for the child.
	Looked-after children are also entitled to support from an independent advocate when making any complaint or representation about their care, including education provision.
	In addition, from September this year, every school must have a designated teacher for looked-after children, who will take responsibility for ensuring that these children's teaching and learning needs are met.

Civil Service: Career Development

Lord Judd: To ask Her Majesty's Government what priority is given to practical field experience in the recruitment and career development of civil servants working on overseas development policy and its implementation for the Department for International Development at HM Treasury.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of civil servants working on overseas development policy and its implementation for the Department for International Development at HM Treasury have practical field experience; and how many such civil servants there are.

Lord Myners: Recruitment to all posts in the Treasury is based on the essential and desirable skills and experience as determined by the recruiting manager, and the behavioural competencies relevant to the grade of the post. Career development is based around the requirements of the role, the competencies and the Professional Skills for Government framework.
	Members of the international and financial directorate have a broad range of relevant skills, including wide experience in a range of international roles.

Climate Change: Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Lord Lawson of Blaby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of total annual United Kingdom emissions, in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent, is accounted for by (a) livestock, and (b) the human population in the normal course of breathing.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: (a) The UK greenhouse gas inventory shows that agriculture as a whole accounts for around 8 per cent of UK total emissions in 2007. This includes significant contributions from methane (37.7 per cent of UK total methane emissions) and nitrous oxide (74.4 per cent of UK total nitrous oxide emissions). Direct emissions from the UK livestock sector in 2007 were 2.9 per cent of the UK total emissions.
	(b) Carbon dioxide emissions from the human population in the normal course of breathing are not included in the UK greenhouse gas inventory.

Community Relations: Islam

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, David Lammy, on 19 May (Official Report, House of Commons, 1338-9W) on Community Relations: Islam, (a) what other subjects apart from Islamic studies have been designated as strategically important subjects; (b) when they were designated as such; (c) how much additional funding has been allocated to Islamic Studies courses since the subject's designation as strategic; and (d) how many students are currently taking Islamic Studies courses in the United Kingdom.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: (a) The following subjects were defined by the Government in a letter from the Secretary of State on 1 December 2004 as strategically important:
	Arabic and Turkish language studies and other Middle Eastern area studies, former Soviet Union Caucasus and central Asia area studies;Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin and other far eastern languages and area studies;science, technology, engineering and maths; vocationally oriented courses of particular interest to employers in industries that are of growing importance to the UK economy, for example, the cultural and creative industries, and e-skills;courses relating to recent EU accession countries, especially those in eastern Europe and the Baltic.
	(b) They were designated as such in a circular letter published by HEFCE in June 2006 (http://www.hefce.ac. uk/pubs/circlets/2006/c117_06/). The programme was reviewed in 2008 (http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_38/).
	(c) To date, HEFCE has allocated £130,000 to develop a programme of work to support Islamic studies courses since the subject's designation as strategic.
	(d) HEFCE published a report in February 2008—(http://www.hefee.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08 09/), which summarises the characteristics of Islamic studies provision, at higher education level, within the UK between 2002-03 and 2005-06 and the students that undertake such courses.
	The data provide only an incomplete picture of the range and scope of Islamic studies provision in the UK. There are two main reasons for this:
	data returned to HESA by universities allow us to identify students studying named Islamic studies courses but not those studying other courses with some Islamic studies content; andstudents undertaking courses or programmes in Islamic studies may be reported as undertaking theology and religious studies; international relations; area studies; or sociology—in fact, Islamic studies can be found, and studied, within the broad range of disciplines and approaches in the social sciences and humanities.
	
		
			 Table: Headcounts of students recorded on Islamic studies programmes 
			 Level of qualification aim 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 
			 Postgraduate 188 225 285 281 286 253 
			 First degree 167 202 201 188 312 210 
			 Other undergraduate 212 154 124 166 100 181 
			 Total 567 581 610 635 698 644

Community Sentences

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many community sentences with a mental health treatment order were issued in each region of England in each of the last three years.

Lord Bach: The table below shows the number of mental health treatment requirements made under community orders and suspended sentence orders which commenced under probation service supervision in each region of England in each year since 2006.
	
		
			  2006  2007  2008  
			 Region Community Order Suspended Sentence Order Community Order Suspended Sentence Order Community Order Suspended Sentence Order 
			 North East 26 4 20 8 24 9 
			 North West 86 24 73 32 88 31 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 39 5 43 13 47 9 
			 East Midlands 48 17 47 13 64 11 
			 West Midlands 95 11 53 29 55 22 
			 Eastern 63 20 83 27 87 21 
			 London 222 44 187 60 210 71 
			 South East 85 22 73 33 95 24 
			 South West 36 8 40 14 36 14 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Compensation

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the judicial guidelines in Northern Ireland in relation to compensation maintain the differences in the amounts considered appropriate for payment in Northern Ireland, and England and Wales; and whether they will make the two sets of guidelines the same.

Lord Bach: The judicial guidelines on the assessment of general damages in personal injury cases are based on the value of awards made by juries in Northern Ireland up until July 1987. The guidelines are published by the Northern Ireland Judicial Studies Board which has no plans to align them with the equivalent guidelines in England and Wales although they are kept under regular review. The guidelines were last revised in 2007 and a copy of these has been placed in the Library.

Counterterrorism

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what primary counter-terrorism legislation has been enacted since 1997; and what statutory instruments the Home Office has issued since 1997, consequent on the provisions of counter-terrorism legislation enacted since then.

Lord West of Spithead: Since 2000 the following primary counterterrorism legislation has been enacted:
	The Terrorism Act 2000The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (only partly to do with terrorism)The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005The Terrorism Act 2006The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008.And the following Home Office statutory instruments have been issued: Terrorism Act 2000:2007/2184-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 20072007/1285-The Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (Procedure) (Amendment) Rules 20072007/207-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Business in the Regulated Sector) Order2006/2299-The Proscribed Organisations (Applications for Deproscription etc.) Regulations 20062006/2290-The Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (Human Rights Act 1998 Proceedings) Rules 20062006/2016-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2006 006/1919-The Proscribed Organisations (Name Changes) Order 20062006/1330-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Revised Code of Practice for the Identification of Persons by Police Officers) (Northern Ireland) Order 20062005/2892-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2005005/350-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Continuance of Part VII) Order 2005004/431-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Continuance of Part VII) Order 20042003/1100-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice on Video Recording of Interviews) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003003/427-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Continuance of Part VII) Order 20032002/2724-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 20022002/21-41-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Cessation of Effect of Section 76) Order 20022002/365-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Continuance of Part VII) Order 20022001/3927-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Enforcement of External Orders) Order 20012001/1261-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 20012001/159-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice on Audio Recording of Interviews) Order 20012001/127-The Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission (Human Rights Act Proceedings) Rules 20012001/107-The Proscribed Organisations (Applications for Deproscription) Regulations 2001 2001/426-The Terrorism Act 2000 (Carding) Order 2001The Terrorism Act 2000 (Code of Practice for Examining Officers) (Revision) Order 2009, made 26 February 2009The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2008, made on 23 June 2008.The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 2008, made on 17 July 2008The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Name Change) Order 2009, made 5 March 2009
	Terrorism Act 2006:
	(Continuance in Force of Sections 21 to 23) Order 2004003/3175-The Retention of Communications Data (Code of Practice) Order 2003003/3173-The Retention of Communications Data (Extension of Initial Period) Order 2003003/691-The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (Continuance inForce of Sections 21 to 23) Order 2003 002/1279-The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (Commencement No.4) Order 2002001/4104-The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (CommencementNo.2) (Scotland) Order 2001001/4019-The Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 (Commencement No.1 and Consequential Provisions) Order 2001
	Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005:
	2007/706-The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in Force of Sections one to 9) Order 20072006/512-The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in Force of Sections one to 9) Order 2006The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections one to 9) Order 2008, made 3 March 2008The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (Continuance in force of sections one to 9) Order 2009, made 5 March 2009
	The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008
	The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Commencement No. 1) Order 2008, made 23 December 2008The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (Commencement No. 2) Order 2009, made 19 January 2009The Counter-Terrorism Act (Commencement No.3) Order 2009, made 18 June 2009The Counter-Terrorism Act (Commencement No.4) Order 2009—due to come into force on 1 October 2009
	Information relating to legislation prior to 2000 can only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Counterterrorism

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what unclassified contracts the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism has entered into since its inception.

Lord West of Spithead: Since its inception, OSCT has entered into more than 2,500 contracts, many of which relate to the everyday procurement of goods and services supporting the delivery of business including small stationery orders, employment of temporary agency staff and accommodation costs. We do not always summarise the nature of the contract on the central IT record and would have to work through locally held records to identify, collate and present those contracts deemed unclassified.
	This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Counterterrorism

Baroness Neville-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what unclassified surveys or reports have been commissioned by the Home Office into the Government's counter-terrorism efforts since 2007.

Lord West of Spithead: Most of the reports that the Home Office has produced or commissioned into the Government's counterterrorism efforts since 2007 have been classified. However, the Government's strategy for countering international terrorism—CONTEST—provides a detailed and unclassified account of our counterterrorism efforts. The revised CONTEST strategy was published on 24 March 2009 and is available on the Home Office website.
	As well as this, the Research Information and Communications Unit (RICU) undertook a piece of research called Counter Terrorism Message Testing, which is a qualitative assessment of how government language is perceived by Muslim communities.
	The Home Office also use opinion polling research to ensure we understand and measure public priorities, concerns and satisfaction with the vital services delivered by the Home Office, its agencies and partners. The questions on the public's view of: the level of threat from terrorism; level of confidence in the way government are reducing the risk; and how open and honest we are in the way we communicate about the threat are asked as part of this survey.
	Along with other evidence, opinion polling helps to inform policy development and our corporate strategy, and to make sure front-line services are accountable, responsive and effective. Polling also helps ensure communication campaigns are targeted where they will have most impact and value, so taxpayers' money is well spent.
	The polling is not part of the Home Office's research or National Statistics outputs, nor does it represent a statement of Home Office policy

Credit Cards

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Norwood Green on 24 June (WA 285), how they monitor the practice of credit card companies in terms of the format, size and location of information on monthly statements; and what conclusions they draw from that monitoring.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Regulatory bodies, including the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Trading Standards Services and the Banking Code Standards Board, all play a part in monitoring the conduct of card companies. We are not aware of significant problems being identified, or numbers of complaints arising, in respect of this issue.
	The OFT will consult this summer on draft irresponsible-lending guidance. Requirements of creditors in terms of the transparency of information that they supply to borrowers is expected to be a matter covered in the guidance.
	The Government are also currently consulting on a number of measures to strengthen consumer protection for people using credit cards. These were set out in the Consumer White Paper published on 2 July and will include a consultation on whether more information should be provided to borrowers.

Crime: Property

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the difficulties and risks caused to (a) prospective tenants, and (b) householders, by property scams conducted via the internet which result in overseas victims of fraudulent transactions paying deposits and rent to fraudsters and then attempting to take possession of accommodation in the United Kingdom which is already in the possession of an otherwise unknowing legal owner.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The Office of Fair Trading has responsibility for internet enforcement cases that cause significant detriment to consumers and participates in international fora designed to address cross-border internet scams of the sort described. In the White Paper entitled A Better Deal for Consumers, published on 2 July 2009, the Government presented plans to enhance the OFT's internet enforcement capacity, to promote joint working with the police e-crime unit and to clarify and review the OFT's powers, and those of Trading Standards services, in this area. In particular, the OFT needs to be clearly empowered to act against online scammers, even when the victims are not in this country. The Government have asked the OFT to develop a long-term national strategy on internet enforcement by the end of 2010.
	In relation to property specifically, if the scam has taken place abroad then UK laws and regulations governing estate agents, including redress schemes and ombudsman services, do not apply. If the scam is perpetrated from the UK, notwithstanding the victim is overseas, it should be reported to the local Trading Standards Service or to Consumer Direct for potential enforcement action.

Crime: Property

Baroness Gardner of Parkes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what resources they have given to the police to monitor and respond to international property rental scams carried out over the internet; and whether they have established any specialist units to co-ordinate a national response to that issue.

Lord West of Spithead: Following a cross-Whitehall review of fraud, the Government have allocated £29 million over three years to implement the National Fraud Programme. Among other things, this will fund a new National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC), expected to be fully operational in 2010, which will radically streamline the way that all types of fraud are reported to the police. It will enable the police to collate information from fraud cases reported in different regions of the country, leading to more meaningful intelligence and hence better targeted operations. The intelligence gained will also inform prevention advice and alerts to fraud threats for business and the public.
	The Government will also provide £3.5 million over three years to fund the Police Central e-Crime Unit (PCeU). Additional funding is being provided by the Metropolitan Police Service. The unit will focus on supporting the new National Fraud Reporting Centre when it comes into operation in 2009. It will also work closely with other crime-fighting agencies to tackle international and serious organised crime groups operating on the internet.
	The National Fraud Strategy, published in March, identified mass marketing fraud (which includes online scams) as a priority. During 2009, SOCA and the OFT will draw up a national control strategy that defines, co-ordinates and tracks action to reduce the harm inflicted by mass marketing fraud on UK citizens.
	The recently published Consumer White Paper announced substantial additional funding for the OFT and trading standards to tackle online scams.

Crime: Victims

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the rights of child victims and witnesses of crime are protected at all stages of the criminal justice process.

Lord Bach: Child victims have procedural rights to a certain standard of service under the victims code, which states that all victims in England and Wales have the legal right to support and information from criminal justice agencies. Child witnesses do not have equivalent legal rights but can expect to receive certain similar standards under the non-statutory witness charter. Key requirements for criminal justice agencies under the code and charter include:
	providing victims and witnesses with information about the CJS process; andkeeping victims and witnesses informed of the progress of their case. Before charge, police officers will keep young people or their parent or guardian informed or case progress. After charge, dedicated police/CPS Witness Care Units will do the same.
	The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 gives child witnesses automatic eligibility for special measures, a range of which are available.

Criminal Justice Acts

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 7 July (WA 124), why it will be towards the end of the year that the information requested will be available.

Lord Bach: There is currently no central record of the requested information and we are undertaking detailed work, including to enable us to answer this and other parliamentary Questions, to compile a comprehensive database recording the status of all our recent legislation. We will reflect on the feasibility of providing the Answer to this Question within a shorter time-scale by prioritising the criminal justice legislation and the question of whether or not it is in force. We need to determine whether or not this can be done without prejudicing the wider aspects of the work. If possible, we will write earlier than the end of the year with the information.

Cyclists

Lord Lipsey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people were prosecuted for riding bicycles through a red light in (a) the latest year for which the figure is available, and (b) each of the preceding four years.

Lord Bach: The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts for bicycle offences relating to the neglect of traffic directions under Sections 35 and 36 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in England and Wales for the years 2003 to 2007 (latest available) is shown in the table below.
	Information held by the Ministry of Justice cannot separately identify cyclists who have been prosecuted for going through a red traffic light from other offences of neglect of traffic directions under the Act.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	Information for Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive and that for Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Office.
	Court proceedings data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	
		
			 The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences connected with bicycles: neglect of traffic direction under the Road Traffic Act 1988 Sec 35 and 36. In England and Wales, for the years 2003 to 2007(1), (2), (3) 
			 Year Proceeded against 
			 2003 38 
			 2004 35 
			 2005 35 
			 2006 55 
			 2007 22 
		
	
	(1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	(3) Data from the court proceedings database cannot separately identify the offence of "going through a red traffic light" from other offences for neglect of traffic directions under the Traffic Act 1988 as they are grouped together and cannot be further separated.
	Source:Court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, Evidence & Analysis Unit—Ministry of Justice. Our ref: PQ HL4898 (Table)

Data Protection

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to increase penalties for deliberate and wilful misuse of personal data in circumstances where such conduct is not objectively justified by the exercise by journalists, their agents and the public of the right to freedom of expression.

Lord Bach: In the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 the Government introduced a power to increase the maximum penalty to a two-year prison sentence (on indictment and six months on summary conviction). The Government believe that the existence of this power provides an effective deterrent against the illegal trade in personal data. These provisions have yet to be brought into force.

Disabled People: Councillors

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial assistance is available to disabled people who are or seek election to become councillors where they are ineligible for the Access to Work Grant.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Access to Work provides practical advice and support to disabled people and their employers to help them overcome work-related obstacles resulting from disability.
	Disabled councillors who are paid a salary rather than an allowance, or who receive allowances other than reimbursement of travel, mileage and meal allowances can claim Access to Work support, provided that all other eligibility conditions are satisfied including being paid at least the national minimum wage.
	For those people who are not eligible for Access to Work funding, other assistance may be available. People under the age of 65 who have walking difficulties and/or need personal care which results from severe disability may be entitled to the disability living allowance. People whose incomes are below the level agreed by Parliament may also be entitled to income-related benefits, such as housing benefit, council tax benefit, income-based jobseeker's allowance and income-related employment and support allowance.
	People in receipt of incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance can continue to receive benefit if they are elected local authority councillors. For incapacity benefit customers and those in receipt of the contributory element of employment and support allowance, account is taken of the amount of allowance payable but benefit is affected only if the allowance exceeds the prescribed limit of £92 in any week. In this event, benefit is reduced on a penny-for-penny basis by the amount that the allowance exceeds the limit. If a councillor is in receipt of the income-related element of 7employment and support allowance, a £20 disregard is applied to allowance payments. There is no limit on the hours worked each week as a councillor.
	These special provisions for councillors recognise the particular obligations placed on them by disregarding such work for the purposes of deciding entitlement to benefit.
	Jobseeker's allowance is a benefit for people who are available for, capable of and looking for work; we would treat any person seeking to become elected or elected as a councillor in the same way as any other person claiming jobseeker's allowance.
	In the assessment of jobseeker's allowance, earnings paid to councillors are treated in the same way as other part-time earnings. They are taken into account and the relevant earnings disregard of £5, £10 or £20 is applied. If a councillor receives a payment for reimbursement of expenses incurred while carrying out their duty, it will be wholly disregarded.
	Jobseeker's allowance is not normally payable to people who work on average 16 hours or more a week (or 24 hours in the case of partners of people receiving jobseeker's allowance). However, the hours worked as a local authority councillor are not taken into account when considering their eligibility for benefits. This means that people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance are not discouraged or excluded from becoming councillors.
	Jobcentre Plus works with a range of providers from the private, public and voluntary sectors to provide specialist disability programmes to help people with a disability or health condition, who need more extensive support, to overcome the labour market barriers they may face. Programmes such as Work Preparation, WORKSTEP, New Deal for Disabled People and Residential Training can be accessed through the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA). DEAs also have access to work psychologists to assist them in supporting customers if appropriate.
	From autumn 2010 the new Specialist Disability programme will replace the existing WORKSTEP and Work Preparation programmes and will be designed as a single streamlined and flexible programme based on effective needs assessment and creation of tailored packages of appropriate support.
	The Department of Health also operates several schemes which give exemptions from NHS costs, for example prescription charges, on grounds of low income or because of certain medical conditions or needs.

Drugs: Thalidomide

The Lord Bishop of Ripon and Leeds: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will re-assess their support for those damaged by thalidomide.

Lord Darzi of Denham: We have no plans to do so, but other reforms may help people, such as direct payments.

Education Act

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints have been made to the Secretary of State under Section 496 of the Education Act 1996; of those, how many have resulted in findings that local authorities have acted unreasonably in respect of their duties; and what directions the Secretary of State has given in such cases.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The department does not hold information centrally on the number of cases where a complaint is raised under Section 496 of the Education Act 1996.

Education: Pupil Information

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government which authorities responsible for education do not forward to the Department for Children, Schools and Families the data returned to them by schools under the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2601), as amended.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2006 define the individual pupil data items to be collected from schools in the School Census. The Regulations can be viewed at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20062601.htm. The provision of information to the department by all maintained nursery, primary, secondary, middle deemed primary, middle deemed secondary, special and non-maintained special schools, academies and city technology colleges schools is a statutory requirement by virtue of these regulations, which are made under Section 537A of the Education Act 1996. Schools maintained by local authorities provide school census information via their maintaining local authority. All local authorities forward their schools' data to DCSF.

Education: Pupil Information

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty's Government in what form any information forwarded to them by schools under the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/2601), as amended, is held.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2006 define the individual pupil data items to be collected from schools in the School Census. The Regulations can be viewed at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20062601.htm. The provision by all maintained nursery, primary, secondary, middle deemed primary, middle deemed secondary, special and non-maintained special schools, academies and city technology colleges schools is a statutory requirement by virtue of these regulations, which are made under Section 537A of the Education Act 1996.
	The department provides very high levels of security for these data and is compliant with BS7799. The data are stored securely and only accessed by staff who have a business need to access the data, hold a current (less than three years' old) enhanced Criminal Records Bureau disclosure and who have been trained in the safe and secure use of identifiable information and have agreed to, and been trained in, the required security levels.

Elections: Electronic Voting

Baroness Quin: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make provision for electronic voting in future local, European and general elections in the United Kingdom.

Lord Bach: In the Governance of Britain Green Paper the Government set out a long-term aim to investigate the potential benefits of remote electronic voting and to take advantage of emerging communication technologies to provide increased flexibility and choice in the way people vote.
	The Government currently have no plans to extend the use of e-voting to mainstream elections. The Government believe that piloting innovations in e-voting and e-counting is important in order to test the potential benefits and establish the evidential basis for future decisions to be taken on whether or not electronic voting could be used more widely in elections.

Electoral Register: Internet

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on the establishment of the Co-ordinated Online Record of Electors; and what is the timetable for its creation.

Lord Bach: The CORE project is currently moving forward with two parallel strands of work: implementation of electoral registration data standards and the development of the detailed specification of the system.
	The data standards were introduced following a direction from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Bridget Prentice MP, issued under Section 52(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c.2)(as amended), which electoral registration officers in Great Britain are required to comply with by 1 December 2009. The direction requires that any electoral registration data held on electronic systems is formatted in compliance with the standards.
	As part of the development work, officials held meetings and workshops throughout 2008 with major stakeholders and potential users of the system to gather user requirements, identify issues and test assumptions around how the CORE service and its IT and business systems will operate. This informed development of a high level statement of requirements, which was completed in June 2009.
	The Electoral Commission (EC) was the original choice to fulfil the role of the CORE keeper, but following recommendations from the Committee on Standards in Public Life, which said that the EC needed to continue to refocus its role as regulator of party finance and electoral administration, the EC declined the invitation.
	The Government reviewed the options available and decided to make amendments to the Political Parties and Elections (PPE) Bill to amend the provisions of the Electoral Administration Act 2006 to enable the Secretary of State to designate a new public body to be CORE keeper.
	In the light of the provisions for individual registration in the PPE Bill, we will need to reconsider the timetable for the commencement of CORE, when we have had an opportunity to develop the policy on individual registration further.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 6 July (WA 100-1), which report of an inspection by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) covers the work described in the poster by Dr Daniel Brison, Dr Susan Kimber and Dr Maria Camarasa that was presented to the HFEA's Scientific and Clinical Advances Group on 14 June 2007; and where the relevant inspection report is publicly available.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that since the earlier Answer on 6 July (WA 100-1), it has been informed that St Mary's Hospital, Manchester was deriving stem cell lines from the embryonic masses that form when an embryo outgrows its structure at the time of the authority's inspection on 26 September 2007.
	The method the centre used for stem cell derivation was checked during the inspection but was not outlined in the inspection report. The inspection notebook required the inspector to check that there is a procedure in place to ensure that embryos are not cultured for longer than 14 days or after the appearance of the primitive streak by checking the centre's protocol, speaking to staff and checking laboratory records. Inspection reports are for licence committees to determine a centre's compliance with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, licence conditions and the HFEA code of practice. The reports focus on areas of compliance and non-compliance and, therefore, are not intended to be detailed scientific documents with a description of every protocol used. For this reason, not all inspection reports contain details about the stem cell derivation method used.
	The latest HFEA inspection reports are published on the authority's website at www.hfea.gov.uk. Previous inspection reports are available upon request to the HFEA. The HFEA has informed me that it holds research inspection reports for St Mary's Hospital, Manchester for inspections that took place on 19 October 2005, 19 September 2006, 26 September 2007 and 17 October 2008.

Embryology

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 7 July (WA 127), whether an embryo in which cell division and development has ceased for at least 24 hours is considered by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority or its peer reviewers to be optimal for derivation of stem cells.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that this is not considered to be an optimal method for derivation of stem cells.

Employers: Subsidies

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many employers have taken up the subsidy to recruit a person who has been unemployed for six months or more since the announcement of the subsidy in April.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The recruitment subsidy and the six-month offer were introduced on 6 April 2009. The department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high-quality standards at the earliest opportunity. We intend to publish official statistics from autumn 2009.

Employment Tribunals Act 1996

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Norwood Green on 29 June (WA 11), whether they will exercise the power conferred by Section 7 of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 to make regulations or procedure rules to enable equal pay claims to be made in representative proceedings in employment tribunals.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The introduction of representative actions in employment tribunals would be a significant departure for Great Britain. Before taking a decision to introduce any such procedure into employment tribunals, we would want to consider very carefully the case for doing so.

Energy: Light Bulbs

Lord Hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any dangers to people's health arising from the use of fluorescent tubes, low-energy bulbs, halogens and LEDs.

Lord Darzi of Denham: In negotiations with the European Commission with regard to implementation of regulation 244/2009 concerning the domestic lighting part of the eco-design of energy-saving products directive 2005/32/EC, the Government successfully pressed for health impacts to be considered and for limits to be set on ultraviolet radiation emissions from compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Since early on in the negotiation process, the Government have been in discussion with clinicians and support groups for partially sighted people and people with certain light-sensitive and neurological conditions about low-energy lighting.
	The Health Protection Agency (HPA) tested a sample of CFLs and found that some emitted UVR which could, under certain conditions, expose people above international guidelines. As a result of its findings the HPA issued precautionary advice on 9 October 2008 to the general public concerning the use of open CFLs in close-working situations. The HPA's advice can be found at www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb& HPAwebStandard/HPAwebC/1223445516605?p =1153822623869
	The HPA's research was considered alongside other available evidence to inform a report by the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). SCENIHR's opinion on light sensitivity can be found at http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions/en/energy-saving-lamps/index.htm.
	In December 2008, the Government prepared an impact assessment, including health aspects, relating to regulation 244/2009. The impact assessment was published on the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform website and is being transferred to the Business Innovation and Skills Department website.

Equality

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the status of the proposal for a Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (Com(2008) 426 final); what effect they expect that proposal to have in the United Kingdom; and what is their stance on the proposal.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The draft EC proposal for an equal treatment directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation was published in July 2008.
	Negotiations on the directive are still under way and the UK will continue to contribute positively. A 12-week public consultation will close on 28 July.
	There are some areas where the draft proposal differs from current or planned legislation in the UK but it is not yet possible to say what effect any final directive will have as negotiations are still under way.
	The UK is supportive of the aims of the draft directive to complete the existing legal framework by addressing the remaining four grounds of discrimination.
	The UK will be seeking to agree a directive that is clear, robust and complementary to the Equality Bill and existing domestic legislation.

EU: Financial Regulation

Lord Willoughby de Broke: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, in their response to the House of Lords European Union Select Committee's report on The future of EU financial regulation and supervision (14th Report, HL Paper 106), they will assess in particular the finding that "the institution of any single supervisory authority would require substantial revision of the EC Treaty", in the light of the European Union Commission's statement that such a change can take place under Article 95 of the Treaty of Rome.

Lord Myners: The European Commission has said it will not propose a single supervisory authority in the EU. Instead, the Commission has indicated that it intends to propose Article 95 of the EC treaty as the legal basis for its proposals to establish a European Systemic Risk Board and a European System of Financial Supervisors. The Government will look very carefully at the Commission's legislative proposals, due in the autumn, to ensure that they are compatible with the treaty and the principles of subsidiarity. The Government will submit their response to the Select Committee's report as usual, within two months of its publication.

EU: Lorry Charging Scheme

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes there have been to European Community law since the introduction of the German lorry-charging scheme, which would prevent a similar arrangement being introduced in the United Kingdom.

Lord Adonis: No changes to European Community law which would prevent a similar scheme being introduced in the UK have been made since the introduction of the German lorry-charging scheme.

Fluoridation

Earl Baldwin of Bewdley: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Darzi of Denham on 9 June (WA 143), whether the undertaking by Lord Warner on 8 March 2005 that "fluoridation schemes would only be introduced where the local population were in favour" (HL Deb, col 706) still represents Government policy.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Section 89 of the Water Industry Act 1991 as substituted by the Water Industry Act 2003 requires strategic health authorities to consult and ascertain opinion before proceeding to make a request to a water undertaker to increase the fluoride content of its water supply. The Water Fluoridation (Consultation) (England) Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/921) make detailed provision about how consultation and the ascertainment of opinion is to be carried out. Regulation 5 sets out the pre-condition to a strategic health authority proceeding to request a water undertaker to increase the fluoride content of its water supply.
	Regulation 5 is in the following terms:
	"A Strategic Health Authority shall not proceed with any step regarding fluoridation arrangements that falls within section 89(2) of the Act unless, having regard to the extent of support for the proposal and the cogency of the arguments advanced, the Authority are satisfied that the health arguments in favour of proceeding with the proposal outweigh all arguments against proceeding".
	The decision under Regulation 5 is to be made by the strategic health authority, not the Secretary of State. Regulation 5 therefore makes clear that it is for the strategic health authority to decide if the health arguments outweigh all other arguments taking into account not merely the cogency of the arguments, but also,
	"the extent of support for the proposal".
	It is clear that, under Regulation 5, support is a relevant factor, but it is not the only factor or the conclusive issue. It can be outweighed by the health arguments. A majority of local support is not therefore a necessary precondition to the strategic health authority requesting a water undertaker to increase the fluoride content of a water supply.
	Government policy is not, and could not be, inconsistent with the regulations. In particular, it could not convert the reference in Regulation 5 to support as a relevant factor into a necessary precondition for a request for fluoridation.
	We accept that there may have been a degree of understandable confusion over these issues in the past. However, by way of clarification, the view given by the Chief Dental Officer in February 2008 that,
	"a SHA cannot base its decision solely on a simple count of the representations for or against the proposal",
	correctly represents government policy. Regulation 5 sets out the law and government policy cannot and does not seek to add to it. It is the for the strategic health authority to take the decision to ask a water undertaker to increase the fluoride content of a water supply and to make the judgment required under Regulation 5 as to whether the health arguments outweigh all other arguments. Local support is a relevant factor but is not a precondition for a request.

Food: Supermarkets

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed progress in encouraging supermarkets to position unhealthy food and confectionery away from the checkout and in less prominent areas.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Government have made no formal assessment of changes supermarkets have made. However, the department continues to work in partnership with retailers to support consumers to make healthier food choices, as set out in Healthy Weight, Healthy Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England. A copyhas already been placed in the Library.

Food: Supplements

Earl Howe: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with responsibility for the retail industry and European affairs plan to meet representatives of the independent health food retail sector to discuss the impact on their businesses of the interpretation and implementation of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive in relation to the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: There are no plans to meet representatives of the independent health food retail sector to discuss this matter. However, Ministers at the Department of Health have received representations from independent health food retailers and consumers about the setting of maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements.
	No specific levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements have yet been proposed by the European Commission or discussed in Commission-led working group meetings with member states.
	The Government continue to work with the food supplements industry in exploring approaches to assess the impact of levels, when they are proposed, on UK businesses and consumer choice and to ensure that any impact on small and medium enterprises is considered fully.

Freedom of Information Act

Lord Dubs: To ask the Chairman of Committees which individuals and organisations have made requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to the House of Lords about its members in (a) each of the past three years, and (b) 2009 to date; in each case, what were the dates of the requests; what information was sought; and which requests were met and which refused.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: Under the Data Protection Act 1998, it is not possible to disclose which individuals and organisations have made freedom of information requests to the House of Lords. The other data requested are set out below. Most of them are also published on the Parliamentary website at the following address: http://www.parliament.uk/ parliamentary_publications_and_ archives/freedom_of_information_in_the_house_of_ lords/log.cfm.
	
		
			 Request Date Received Outcome 
			 Communications regarding Register of Interests with a list of Members. 08/02/2006 Refused. 
			 Information regarding alleged fraud at elections for hereditary Peers. 09/06/2006 No information held. 
			 List of non-white Members. 16/08/2006 No information held. 
			 Questions relating to attendance figures, number of speeches made, expense claims and complaints about expenses relating to Bishops. From January 2005 to January 2007. 17/01/2007 Met in part—some information not held. 
			 A list of all politicians/MPs (MSPs and MEPs) who have or have had a criminal record. 05/02/2007 Met in part—limited information held. 
			 All correspondence between a named Member and the House of Lords Administration since June 2006, and the expenses received by the Member since June 2006. 24/04/2007 Met. 
			 List of pass-holders sponsored by Members of the House of Lords. 23/05/2007 Met. 
			 List of pass-holders sponsored by Members of the House of Lords. 28/06/2007 Met. 
			 Tax residency of two Members. 13/11/2007 No information held. 
			 Overnight subsistence expenses and principal place of residence of a Member. 14/11/2007 Partially met. 
			 Payments made to Members under the common agricultural policy. 15/11/2007 No information held. 
			 Names of holders of parliamentary passes sponsored by Members. 26/11/2007 Met. 
			 Home addresses used by two named Members for the purpose of membership of the House of Lords. 07/12/2007 Refused. 
			 Expenses claimed for four named Members, and total amount of rejected claims. 08/01/2008 Met. 
			 Details of any events or meetings in the House of Lords on 25 July 2007, giving details of purpose and attendees (including names of sponsoring Members). 12/02/2008 Met. 
			 Details of foreign visits undertaken by Members for 2007 and 2008. 12/02/2008 Met. 
			 Details of events held in House of Lords by external organisations, including name of sponsoring Member and organisation involved. 13/02/2008 Met. 
			 Incidents of fighting between staff and/or parliamentarians on House of Lords premises over the last five years. 13/02/2008 No information held. 
			 Taxi expense claims by parliamentarians. 13/02/2008 No information held. 
			 Details of private dining room bookings between October 2006 and October 2007. 20/02/2008 Met. 
			 Members' expenses—supporting documentation from 2002 to present. 03/03/2008 Refused. 
			 Members' disclosure of interests relating to the sale of Dolphin Square, and details of Members requesting advice on this subject. 10/03/2008 No information held. 
			 Expense claims made by a named Member since 3 May 2007. 10/03/2007 Met. 
			 Parliamentary pass-holders currently sponsored by Members. 13/03/2008 Refused. 
			 Name of Member sponsoring a named individual for entry to House of Lords on 25 July 2007, and events attended by the named individual on that day. 18/03/2008 No information held. 
			 Name of Member sponsoring a named individual for entry to House of Lords on 25th July 2007, names of Members who voted in the House, and who claimed day subsistence on the same day. 25/03/2008 Met in part—some information not held. 
			 Details of Members' foreign trips taken over the Easter recess paid for by the public purse. 25/03/2008 No information held. 
			 Expense claims made by 10 named Members relating to their main residence and overnight subsistence for the last three financial years. 31/03/2008 Some information already published, some information not held. 
			 Register of interests for Members' research assistants and secretaries on 1 October 2007 and 1 June 2007. 03/04/2008 Information not held at time of request. 
			 Employment of family members as staff by Members. 25/04/2008 No information held. 
			 Details of Members and staff who are "Common Purpose graduates". 19/05/2008 No information held. 
			 Overnight subsistence claims for a named Member since 2005. 27/05/2008 Met. 
			 The first part of the home postcodes for all Members of the House of Lords. 09/06/2008 Refused. 
			 Amounts claimed by a named Member. 04/07/2008 Some information already published, some information for future publication. 
			 Names of Members of the House of Lords who are also Freemasons. 10/07/2008 No information held. 
			 Expense claims made by a named Member for financial year 2003-04. 18/07/2008 No information held. 
			 Name of Member sponsoring an event to be held on House of Lords premises. 02/09/2008 Met. 
			 Information about the religious beliefs of the Members. 07/10/2008 No information held. 
			 Details of the amounts claimed for expenses by a named Member since June 2005. 20/10/2008 Some information already published, some information for future publication. 
			 All attendances and details of expenses claimed since 2006 (or date of joining) for three named Members. 18/11/2008 Partially met—some information for future publication. 
			 Information relating to language lessons for Members, including languages learnt and costs. 27/11/2008 No information held. 
			 List of names of Members with criminal convictions. 11/12/2008 Met—limited information held. 
			 Convicted criminals eligible to sit in the House of Lords. 17/12/2008 Met—limited information held. 
			 Number of possible and actual attendances in the House for a named Member, and expenses claimed and number of possible and actual attendances in the House for additional named Members. 23/12/2008 Met. 
			 Expenses claimed by a named Member, and confirmation of the Member's main and second residence. 05/01/2009 Met in part. 
			 List of all Members created from 01/01/07 to 31/12/08 (to include political party and date of creation). 09/01/2009 Met. 
			 Request for a list of Members who are not domiciled and/or pay tax to the UK Government. 26/01/2009 No information held. 
			 A list of Members' names, dates and topics of those who have asked questions, tabled amendments and/or made interventions "perceived to be of benefit to an outside client". 27/01/2009 Met in part—some information refused. 
			 List of members who are "convicted felons". 27/01/2009 Met. 
			 Details of a meeting involving a named Member. 29/01/2009 No information held. 
			 Amounts claimed in expenses over the last three years for a named Member. 03/02/2009 Information already published. 
			 Request for expenses claimed by a named Member. 04/02/2009 Information already published. 
			 List of amendments tabled by a named Member. 08/02/2009 Information already available from published sources. 
			 List of Members who have sponsored events held in the House of Lords rooms by external organisations since January 2007. 11/02/2009 Met. 
			 A list of all amendments made to the Register from 01/01/09 to date. 13/02/2009 Met. 
			 Number of questions asked by a specific Member about the security of IT systems used by government departments. 03/03/2009 Information already available from published sources. 
			 Copy of a report into the performance of "peoples' Peers", and all correspondence relating to concerns over Peers' voting and attendance since 2001. 18/03/2009 No information held. 
			 Number of current Members who have had criminal convictions before and since becoming Members, including the type of offence. 25/03/2009 Met—limited information held. 
			 Full list of individual amounts claimed under overnight and day subsistence for a specific Member for 2007-2008. 30/03/2009 Met. 
			 Full list of individual amounts claimed under overnight and day subsistence for a specific Member for 2007-2008. 31/03/2009 Met. 
			 Full list of individual amounts claimed under overnight and day subsistence for a specific member for 2007-2008. 31/03/2009 Met. 
			 Full list of individual amounts claimed under overnight and day subsistence for a specific member for 2007-2008. 31/03/2009 Met. 
			 How many Members are also members of the RSPB. 20/04/2009 No information held. 
			 Full list of individual amounts claimed under overnight and day subsistence for a specific Member for 2007-2008. 22/04/2009 Met. 
			 A full list of pass-holders to the Palace of Westminster who have been sponsored by Members over the past three years. 14/05/2009 Met in part—some information not held at time of request. 
			 Total amounts claimed in expenses by a named Member in 2007 and 2008, the number of times this Member has attended the House of Lords since 2007. 18/05/2009 Information already available from published sources. 
			 Total amounts claimed in expenses by Bishops over the last year, or for the year they are most recently available. 18/05/2009 Information already available from published sources. 
			 A copy of all Members' expense claims from 1 January 2005 to date. 21/05/2009 Refused. 
			 Details of claims made for travel expenses of named Members on their Lords credit card, specifically itemised credit card statements for a list of named Members for the period 2007-2008. 21/05/2009 In progress. 
			 Details of expenses claimed by named Members, specifically claim forms, receipts, credit card statements and also attendance at the House of Lords. 26/05/2009 In progress. 
			 Details of a meeting held in Greece on 14 and 18 May 2009, including names of any elected UK officials attending, and a list of the topics discussed. (Request included specific reference to one member). 29/05/2009 No information held. 
			 Details of expense forms, and any rejected claims, over the last four years for named Members. 02/06/2009 In progress. 
			 Request for blank copies of all types of expense forms used, and details of the procedures for claiming Members' expenses. 06/06/2009 Met. 
			 Request for the total amounts of expenses, including those claimed for a second home, of two named Members. 08/06/2009 Met. 
			 Details of every employee currently working for sitting Members, specifically their names, details of the Member they are employed by, their job title or area of responsibility, and a contact e-mail address. 17/06/2009 Met in part—limited information held. 
			 Request for any information held relating to the RSPB using Members of the House of Lords who are also members of the RSPB to influence the law on behalf of the RSPB. 18/06/2009 Information already provided in response to the same request.

Government Departments: Relocation

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much public expenditure has been incurred since 1997 in moving offices and staff of (a) the Home Office, and (b) the Ministry of Justice and its predecessors, from one location to another.

Lord West of Spithead: This information is not held centrally and would incur disproportionate cost to obtain.

Government Departments: Websites

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether civil servants in the Department for Children, Schools and Families monitor They Work For You and other websites to track the source of remarks posted about Ministers; if so, at what grades those civil servants are; how many staff days of work are involved each year; and at what cost.

Baroness Morgan of Drefelin: The department's staff do not monitor any websites to track the source of remarks posted about Ministers.

Government: Consultation

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the Cabinet Office guidelines on the minimum period for consultation on Government documents; and in what circumstances the minimum period can be shortened.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The code of practice on consultation recommends a formal consultation period of at least 12 weeks to help enhance the quality of the responses with consideration given to longer timescales where feasible and sensible. The code advises departments to always consider whether running a formal, written, public consultation is the best way of seeking views, especially when timing is tight to follow the 12-week recommendation.
	Under specific circumstances such as, for example, when dealing with emergency measures or international, legally binding deadlines or when the consultation needs to fit into fixed timetables such as the budget cycle, the code urges departments to clearly explain in the consultation document the reasons for the shortened consultation period. Also, ministerial clearance should be sought for the shorter timeframe. In such circumstances, the code advises departments to consider the provision of additional means through which people can express their views.

Gulf War Illnesses

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Bolton on 18 June (Official Report, House of Lords, col. 226), whether she has now seen the letter dated 24 April from the Senior Programme Officer of the United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) referred to by Lord Tunnicliffe on 27 April (Official Report, House of Lords, cols. 8—10); and whether the department's stated understanding that the IOM was then reviewing the report of the Congressionally-mandated United States Research Advisory Committee's inquiry into Gulf War illnesses and would be reporting on it by February 2010 has been revised.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton: The Government have seen an e-mail from the senior programme officer of the US Institute of Medicine (IOM). The e-mail explains that peer review of the United States Research Advisory Committee (RAC) report is not taking place. That is in line with the Government's understanding of the position.
	Following my meeting with the noble Lord, Lord Morris, on 15 July, I instructed officials to hold further discussions with the US Department for Veterans Affairs and with the IOM. As a result, I can confirm that an IOM committee is conducting a study entitled Gulf War & Health (Health Effects of Serving in the Gulf War-Update 2009), in effect summarising and reporting on peer-reviewed scientific literature published since the IOM's last report in 2006. The RAC Report of Gulf War Veterans Illness falls within this timeframe.
	The RAC report represents a body of work whose key findings are inconsistent with numerous previous studies on this subject by the US IOM. It is for this reason that the Department of Veterans Affairs asked the IOM committee to engage with the RAC and to consider the same scientific literature that the RAC used to come to its conclusions.
	The IOM committee is expected to report in February 2010. The IOM is an independent scientific body, and the degree to which it will consider the findings of the RAC report remains uncertain at this stage. The British Government's position is that we will not comment on the RAC report until the IOM issues its own report.

Health: Botox

Lord Jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government what antidotes exist to combat an outbreak of botulism in the United Kingdom; and what quantities of those antidotes are held.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The department stocks a botulism antitoxin produced by Novartis Vaccines to be used in case of incidences of botulism within the United Kingdom. There are currently 76 vials of antitoxin in central store and 111 vials held at various holding centres throughout the UK.

Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Department of Health has made of paragraph 3.2 of the submission from the Macfarlane Trust dated 1 July replying to the Written Statement by Lord Darzi of Denham on 20 May (WS 121—2) in response to the report of the Independent Public Inquiry headed by Lord Archer of Sandwell that the average amount disbursed to infected beneficiaries was £8,100 in the financial year ended 31 March 2008 and £8,600 in the financial year ended 31 March 2009.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the Department of Health's response to the proposed level of annual payments to the infected beneficiary community in paragraph 3.4 of the submission from the Macfarlane Trust dated 1 July replying to the Written Statement by Lord Darzi of Denham on 20 May (WA 121—2) in response to the report of the Independent Public Inquiry headed by Lord Archer of Sandwell.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Department of Health has made of paragraph 4.2 of the submission from the Macfarlane Trust dated 1 July replying to the Written Statement by Lord Darzi of Denham on 20 May (WA 121—2) in response to the report of the Independent Public Inquiry headed by Lord Archer of Sandwell that the potential number of bereaved and other dependants will be around 500.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Department of Health has made of paragraph 4.2 of the submission from the Macfarlane Trust dated 1 July replying to the Written Statement by Lord Darzi of Denham on 20 May (WA 121—2) in response to the report of the independent public inquiry headed by Lord Archer of Sandwell that the average level of financial disbursements to widows and dependants is £3,300.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts have sent to departmental officials detailed commentaries on the Government's response to the report by Lord Archer. This material provides a helpful background to work now under way to implement the Government's response.
	The Government note the Macfarlane Trust's analysis of its payments to infected beneficiaries. The Government's response to Lord Archer's report, given on 20 May explained that annual payments to infected beneficiaries will be £12,800.
	The Government also note that the average payment by the Macfarlane Trust to widows and dependants in 2008-09 was £3,300. The trust's unaudited annual report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2009 record that the trust made payments to 81 such beneficiaries in 2008-09. The trust's submission does not set out in detail the basis on which they estimate that this number might increase to 500.

Health: Contaminated Blood Products

Lord Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will now review the Department of Health's decision not to change the point at which the widow of a patient infected by hepatitis C by contaminated NHS blood products becomes eligible for financial assistance, as suggested by the independent public inquiry headed by Lord Archer of Sandwell.

Lord Darzi of Denham: I announced on 20 May (WMS 121-122), in the Government's response to Lord Archer's report, that the Skipton Fund would continue to make payments to people infected with hepatitis C. At the same time, the Government committed to review the Skipton Fund in 2014, when the fund will have been in existence for 10 years.

Health: Dermatology

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they expect to develop a future curriculum for pharmacists to improve the level of dermatology education.

Lord Darzi of Denham: In the White Paper, Pharmacy in England: Building on Strengths—Delivering the Future (Cm7341), we set out plans to work to ensure that the pharmacy undergraduate degree course and pre-registration training provides pharmacists with clinical competencies to deliver the services of the future. Since February 2009, we have been working with the Modernising Pharmacy Careers Programme Board to develop a new model for undergraduate and pre-registration training and proposals for improving pharmacist postgraduate training, including where this supports better patient access to more specialist services. The board, led by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer, brings together wide-ranging pharmacy expertise and experience from schools of pharmacy, professional regulation, hospital and community pharmacy, research and the United Kingdom pharmaceutical industry.

Health: Henoch-Schönlein Purpura

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they allocated to research on Henoch-Schonlein Purpura in each of the last five years.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Neither the department nor the Medical Research Council has directly funded research on Henoch-Schonlein Purpura during the past five years. In that time, a large part of the department's total expenditure on health research has been devolved to and managed by National Health Service organisations. Details of individual NHS-supported research projects, including a small number concerned with Henoch-Schonlein Purpura, are available on the archived national research register at: https://portal.nihr.ac.uk/Pages/NRRArchiveSearch.aspx.

Health: Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disease

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they will consider to encourage National Health Service managers and the British Medical Association to follow up recent research into the causes of schizophrenia and depressive and bipolar disorders.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Research into severe mental illness that advances clinical understanding of these conditions is welcomed and it is for individual National Health Service trusts and the British Medical Association to decide for themselves whether and how to follow up any research initiatives.

Higher Education: Admissions

Lord Baker of Dorking: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many places have been provided in higher education institutions in each of the past three years; and what the forecast number is for 2009-10.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The figures below show the last three years of available data on student numbers in English institutions. They refer to all places, including part-time (headcount), postgraduate and non-HEFCE fundable. They exclude non-EU domiciled students.
	
		
			 HE enrolments in English HEIs 
			 UK and EU domiciled students Total 
			 2005/06 1,716,449 
			 2006/07 1,725,008 
			 2007/08 1,726,935 
		
	
	* Enrolments refer to the entire student population, rather than new students entering their first year.
	We expect continued growth in these figures over the next two years. The Government have funded an additional 20,000 full-time equivalent places for core fundable students in the financial year 2008-09, and a further 10,000 in 2009-10. Core fundable students refer to those students who do not have an existing HE qualification at an equivalent or higher level, or where this is not the case are still eligible for teaching grant because of the nature of their course. Further information can be found in the 2009 HEFCE grant letter.
	In addition to the growth above, we announced on 20 July that we would be providing financial support in 2009-10 for 10,000 extra students in science, technology, engineering and maths over the duration of their course in higher education.
	Data on the 2008-09 student population will be published early in 2010, and on the 2009-10 population in 2011.

Higher Education: Expenditure

Lord Baker of Dorking: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the capital expenditure on sixth form and further education colleges in each of the past 10 years; and what the forecast capital expenditure is for the next three years.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: As the table below shows, in the last 10 years £1.955 billion of capital expenditure has been invested in the renewal and modernisation of sixth-form and further education colleges. We will invest an additional £757.6 million in 2009-10 and a further £448.l million in 2010-11. In the budget, a planning assumption of funding of £300 million was set for 2011-12 to 2013-14.
	
		
			  FE Capital Funding (£million) 1 
			 1998-99 Nil 
			 1999-2000 40 
			 2000-01 55 
			 2001-02 98.6 
			 2002-03 125.8 
			 2003-04 154.1 
			 2004-05 201.0 
			 2005-06 179.3 
			 2006-07 224.6 
			 2007-08 322.8 
			 2008-09 [Provisional] 543.5 
			 Total FE capital 1954.7 
		
	
	1 The figures presented in the table above represent expenditure on the renewal and rebuilding of the FE and Sixth Form College estate, and form only one element of the LSC's capital budget. In total, when including funds allocated to Specialisation, System Development, and Information and Learning Technology, between 2001-02 and 2008-09 the LSC has approved a total contribution to capital projects in the sector of £2.9bn. The LSC also administers funds for 16-18 rationalisation - over the last 10 years these total an additional £338m.

Higher Education: International Colleges

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what payments they have made to the Accreditation Service for International Colleges in the past five years; how many colleges are currently accredited by the service; in what categories; and why accreditation is not carried out by their educational inspectorates.

Lord West of Spithead: No payments have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC). ASIC has currently accredited 210 education providers. ASIC accredits private providers that typically offer further and higher education courses, as well as some specialist providers such as religious colleges.
	When the Government introduced our accreditation requirement for institutions wishing to recruit students from outside the EU under tier four of our new points-based system, we were mindful of the fact that there were already a number of accreditation services operating within the private sector that were able to provide an independent check on the quality of education being delivered. Many private providers within the English-language, further and higher education sectors had for years been voluntarily using the services of such bodies to quality-assure what they were doing. Rather than ignoring this, it was decided to use the services of those accreditation bodies that sought approval from UKBA, provided that they were found to offer an acceptable inspection service when checked by Ofsted.

Housing: HomeBuy

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have ended the Open Market HomeBuy scheme for first-time buyers.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: I refer the noble Lord to the Statement made by my right honourable friend the Member for Wentworth in the other place on 30 June, Official Report, column 7-9WS.

Housing: Migrants

Lord Ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to maximise dissemination of the Equality and Human Rights Commission study on social housing allocations to new migrants in Britain.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government welcome the Equality and Human Rights Commission's report into social housing allocation and immigrant communities. Despite perceptions that migrants displace British social housing applicants, it found no evidence of bias in favour of migrants in the way that social housing is allocated. We have no plans to disseminate the report.

Human Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what basis would Northern Ireland require human rights protection over and above that required for the rest of the United Kingdom.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: I have nothing further to add to my Answer of 10 June 2009, Official Report, col. WA 151.

Immigration

Lord Krebs: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of points-based immigration on the United Kingdom higher education sector.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have received concerning the impact of points-based immigration on the United Kingdom higher education sector.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they have responded to representations expressing concern about the impact of points-based immigration on the United Kingdom higher education sector.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: Tier 4, the student tier of the points-based system (PBS), was developed in consultation with the education sector and is designed to provide a clear and transparent system for bona fide education providers wishing to bring international students to the UK. Her Majesty's Government continue to welcome genuine international students, who make a valuable cultural and economic contribution to the UK's education system.
	Since Tier 4 was introduced at the end of March, there have been a number of representations made by vice-chancellors and others across the education sector, in particular concerning delays in the system and a higher than usual level of refusals. The UK Border Agency (UKBA) continues to work closely with the sector to address these problems, via regular meetings of the Joint Education Taskforce and its sub-groups, as well as through meetings and correspondence with individual education providers. The UKBA has listened to stakeholder views, leaking changes to policies and clarifying guidance where appropriate.
	The latest UKBA figures indicate that application rates for student visas under Tier 4 of the PBS for immigration are now at 2008-09 levels. This follows an initial anticipated dip when the system was first introduced at the end of March. Management information shows that, although refusal rates were initially higher than expected, they have since been falling and this indicates that the new system is bedding down.
	There continues to be regular contact between senior officials at the UKBA and this department and with Universities UK about the concerns of the higher education sector.
	My right honourable friend the Minister for Higher Education and my honourable friend the Minister for Borders and Immigration are to meet with a group of vice-chancellors on 20 July specifically to ensure that any remaining concerns are heard and to agree any further action to ensure the system can cope with the summer applications peak.

Immigration: Deportation

Baroness Warsi: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been deported in each of the last five years on the ground of unacceptable behaviour.

Lord West of Spithead: Over the past five years one individual has been deperted from the United Kingdom on the exclusive grounds of unacceptable behaviour as defined under Section 3(5)(a) of the Immigration Act 1971 as the Secretary of State deemed his deportation to be conducive to the public good.

Industrial Building Allowance

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect of the withdrawal of the industrial building allowance on different industrial sectors.

Lord Myners: The phased withdrawal of the industrial building allowance (IBA) is not an isolated measure; it is part of the business tax reform package announced in the 2007 Budget. An impact assessment in respect of the package as a whole was published as part of the December 2007 technical note on the capital allowances changes. The final impact assessment was issued on 19 March 2008.

Industrial Building Allowance

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the withdrawal of the industrial building allowance will affect public land; and, if so, what calculations have been made of the cost.

Lord Myners: The industrial building allowance is being withdrawn because there was no longer any economic justification for continuing with a selective subsidy for certain buildings but not for others. It is not anticipated that the withdrawal will have any specific effect on public land.

Infrastructure Planning (National Policy Statement Consultation) Regulations 2009

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the list of persons to be consulted in Regulation 3(3) of the Infrastructure Planning (National Policy Statement Consultation) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1302) does not include the National Farmers' Union, the Country Land and Business Association and the CBI.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The bodies listed in the Question above do not have relevant statutory duties and were therefore not included in the list of statutory consultees at Regulation 3(3) of the Infrastructure Planning (National Policy Statement Consultation) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1302).

Infrastructure Planning (National Policy Statement Consultation) Regulations 2009

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government why Table 1 of the Infrastructure Planning (National Policy Statement Consultation) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1302) does not refer to schools, colleges and universities where a national policy statement may affect the land upon which they are built.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Schools, colleges and universities were not included in Table 1 of the Infrastructure Planning (National Policy Statement Consultation) Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1302), as they do not have relevant statutory duties.
	However, they may still be consulted in accordance with regulation 3(6) "as, in any particular case, the Secretary of State may think fit."

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord McKenzie of Luton on 6 July (WA 109-10), why they have accepted the right of petition under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities before assessing the practical benefits to the people of the United Kingdom of doing so; and why they will not accept the right of petition under the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights until they have assessed the benefits of the right of petition under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Lord Bach: The Government remain to be convinced of the added practical value to people in the United Kingdom of rights of individual petition to the United Nations. The experiment with the CEDAW Optional Protocol did not provide sufficient empirical evidence to decide either way on the value of other individual complaint mechanisms. We will need further evidence, over a longer period, to establish whether there are practical benefits. We hope that ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will assist in providing us with the evidence we seek.

International Development

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will calculate the cost of promoting low carbon sustainable growth in developing countries; how much will be funded from the overseas aid budget; and what additional funds will be available for national climate change programmes in developing countries.

Lord Brett: The UK Government are supporting two work programmes that are aimed at assessing the costs of low carbon growth. The first seeks to estimate costs at a regional level (Africa, Asia and Latin America). The second is more detailed and looks at specific countries (India, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil). The global assessments will allow us to look at how much finance might flow from international carbon markets and therefore how much other finance (i.e. domestic finance or international public finance) might be needed.
	Finance is a key issue in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations that are due to conclude, in December, in Copenhagen. The UK Government are seeking a deal that helps to deliver new and additional sources of funding for both low carbon development and adaptation. We are calling for all developed countries to provide additional public finance, over and above existing aid commitments, to help pay for developing country action on climate change. We are also proposing that all donor countries should ensure that they climate-proof existing commitments on official development assistance (ODA), and make available a small, limited proportion of ODA—in the case of the UK, up to 10 per cent— specifically for climate change objectives that also contribute to poverty reduction.

Israel

Lord Janner of Braunstone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are considering regarding the proposed United Kingdom academic boycotts against Israel.

Lord Drayson: The UK Government fully support academic freedom and are firmly against any academic boycotts of Israel or Israeli academics. It is important to note that there are no proposals for a United Kingdom academic boycott against Israel and no such policy exists currently.

Jobcentre Plus: Staff

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Jobcentre Plus staff have been recruited since the announcement of 10,000 extra staff in April.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Since the start of April 2009 Jobcentre Plus has recruited over 6,000 full-time equivalent new staff into customer service operational posts. Further recruitment is currently ongoing and we are continually reviewing the staffing levels required to meet customer demand.

Legal Aid

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to take action to ensure that law firms acting for parents in care proceedings under the fixed fee legal aid system do not use unqualified staff; and, if so, how.

Lord Bach: Parents in care proceedings receive assistance funded by legal aid without reference to their financial resources. All law firms providing legally aided assistance are subject to quality controls.
	The Legal Services Commission is committed to ensuring that it contracts with providers that deliver high-quality services for clients. All legal aid providers must meet the Specialist Quality Mark (SQM)—a quality management system—which includes requirements for supervision and file review by appropriately qualified staff. This means that even routine tasks which may be carried out by unqualified staff are undertaken under appropriate supervision.
	In addition, the proposals in the consultation, Family Legal Aid Funding from 2010, have elements that reward experience and expertise, including higher fees for High Court work and an enhanced fee for care and supervision cases that resolve prior to the final hearing.

Legal Aid

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to any negative impacts of a best value tendering approach for legal aid services.

Lord Bach: I refer the noble Lord to my Written Ministerial Statement of 20 July in which I announced the publication of the Legal Services Commission's (LSC) response to consultation on best value tendering of criminal defence services.
	The LSC will proceed to pilot BVT as planned in Manchester and Avon & Somerset. However, the LSC has listened carefully to concerns raised by those responding to the consultation and has been persuaded that there is a strong case for delaying the wider implementation of BVT until at least 2013 to enable a full evaluation of the impact in the two pilot areas.
	A copy of the consultation response and accompanying impact assessment has been placed in the House Library. The documents are also available on the consultation section of the LSC website at www.legalservices.gov.uk.

Legal Aid

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any risk of a reverse auction for legal representation, in relation to best value tendering for legal aid services.

Lord Bach: I refer the noble Lord to my Written Ministerial Statement of 20 July in which I announced the publication of the Legal Services Commission's (LSC) response to consultation on best value tendering of criminal defence services.
	The response confirms that the LSC intends to pilot BVT in Greater Manchester and Avon & Somerset, and describes features of the chosen BVT model, which will mitigate any risks associated with a reverse auction. However, in response to strong concerns expressed by respondents to the consultation, the LSC has decided to slow down the timetable for implementation of BVT beyond the two pilot areas. This will enable the LSC to conduct a full evaluation of the pilot, including the effects of running a reverse auction.
	A copy of the consultation response and accompanying impact assessment has been placed in the House Library. The documents are also available on the consultation section of the LSC website at www.legalservices.gov.uk.

Legal Aid

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 1 July (WA 60), what assessment they have made of the causes of the increase in the number of cases granted legal aid in Northern Ireland in recent years.

Lord Bach: The number of civil cases granted legal aid has decreased in the last 10 years while the number of criminal cases granted legal aid has increased. The causes for the increase in the number of criminal cases granted legal aid can be difficult to determine as legal aid is granted by the courts in accordance with the statutory criteria—namely, whether the accused person satisfies the means and merits tests. We are currently reviewing the way in which legal aid is determined as part of a package of measures to reform legal aid.

Legal Aid

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 22 June (WA 258-9), why the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission has received reports on only 62 of the 266 judicial review cases for which it granted legal aid in 2008-09; whether the commission intends to seek the results of the remainder to assess the efficacy of the legal aid granted; and what were the costs of such legal aid cases in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

Lord Bach: The Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission normally only receives a report on a judicial review for which legal aid has been granted when the representative of the assisted person is in a position to submit his claim to the legal aid fund.
	The cost of judicial review cases, for which legal aid was granted in 2007-08 and 2008-09, will not be available until the reports in relation to those cases have been received.

Legal Aid

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many compensation claimants sought legal aid from the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission in the last three years; of those, how many were granted legal aid; how many such claimants were successful; and what were the costs of providing that legal aid.

Lord Bach: Information relating to claimants seeking legal aid, in cases where damages were being sought, for the years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 is set out below.
	
		
			  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 
			 Number of Legal Aid claimants registered 2,229 1,801 3,514 
			 Number who were granted Legal Aid 1,914 1,414 1,265 
			 Percentage of claimants who were successful 81% 80% 81% 
			 Cost of providing Legal Aid £1,904,393 £2,019,356 £1,747,547 
		
	
	The percentage figures relate to the number of cases in which the judgment was in favour of the assisted person or the case was settled.
	As claims for legal aid can span more than one year, it should be noted that the year in which claims were received will not necessarily correlate to the year in which the claim was granted, the percentage of successful claims nor the year in which costs applied.

Legal Aid

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what internal guidance the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission has on how to interpret the requirement that before legal aid is granted a case must be reasonable in the circumstances.

Lord Bach: In determining if a case is reasonable in the circumstances, experienced, legally qualified staff draw on a number of sources of guidance including the relevant legislation and case law. Staff also have recourse to operating manuals.
	The Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission recently published a Northern Ireland funding code for public consultation which aims to change in the way legal aid is granted in the future. The funding code will be supported by guidance.

Manufacturing

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government what trends they forecast for the quarterly percentage changes in United Kingdom manufacturing output for the rest of this year and 2010.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The Government do not forecast quarterly changes in UK manufacturing output. However, in Her Majesty's Treasury's (HMT) 2009 Budget published in April, the Government forecast that manufacturing output would decline on the year by between 12.25 per cent and 12.75 per cent in 2009, but would increase by between 0.25 per cent and 0.75 per cent in 2010.
	HMT also publishes a summary of forecasts for the UK economy from selected independent forecasting organisations including from the financial sector and the CBI, NIESR, OECD and IMF. The latest publication for July 2009 reported that the average independent forecast was for manufacturing output to contract by 10.4 per cent on the year in 2009, followed by a rise of 1.2 per cent in 2010.

Migrant Workers: Bulgarians and Romanians

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many applications for accession workers cards and registration certificates have been granted to (a) Bulgarians, and (b) Romanians, including family members, since those countries' accessions to the European Union.

Lord West of Spithead: Information on the number of accession worker cards is published in the quarterly Bulgarian and Romanian Accession Statistics and are available in the Libraries of the House.
	Registration certificates are not issued to Bulgarian and Romanian nationals.
	Information on the number of family members who have entered in the UK is not available centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

Migrant Workers: Bulgarians and Romanians

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government who operates the seasonal agricultural workers schemes and sector-based schemes involving Bulgarians and Romanians which deal with Northern Ireland employers; how much the operators are paid per annum; and how they are monitored.

Lord West of Spithead: The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS) is administered by nine SAWS operators who work under contract with the UK Border Agency.
	Currently, only two of the SAWS operators have client employers in Northern Ireland. SAWS operators are routinely monitored by the UK Border Agency through visiting premises, accommodation, client employers, speaking with workers and monitoring performance against contracts. Additionally, those operators that supply workers to client employers are also monitored by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA). The sector-based scheme (SBS) is not administered by SAWS operators A Bulgarian or Romanian national who wishes to work under this scheme must apply to the UK Border Agency for permission to work. Usually the employer would do this on their behalf. Employment conditions for SBS workers are not routinely monitored.

National Archives

Baroness Henig: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposed reduction of services at and access to the National Archives at Kew.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure (a) that fully trained specialist staff are maintained in the National Archives, (b) that the current opening arrangements are maintained, (c) that the National Archives' commitment to research training days for university educational visits are maintained, and (d) that the National Archives remains located at Kew.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that the proposed reduction of services at and access to the National Archives will not damage the quality of scholarly research conducted at United Kingdom universities.

Lord Bach: The proposals announced by the National Archives are supported by my right honourable friends the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Jack Straw) and the Minister of State for Justice (Michael Wills). The National Archives, like many organisations, faces significant cost pressures, driven in part by the need to meet the increasing expectations of researchers in the digital age and by the growth in numbers of people using its services. The Government are committed to keeping the National Archives' services world class, as well as guaranteeing access to its unique collection for generations to come. These proposals will allow the National Archives to offer its core services effectively and still adapt to the changing needs of its customers.
	The National Archives' five-year strategy, which has been also supported by honourable friends in the other place, is to develop its online services to support the widest possible researcher base. Last year, it supported the research needs of around 20 million people and delivered 100 million records online. Going forward, it will continue to invest in improving access to its records and expertise online by, for example, developing its online catalogue, continuing digitisation projects and launching innovative online tutorials. 174 documents are now accessed online for every original document accessed in the reading rooms at Kew, demonstrating the importance of using the resources at its disposal to support online service development.
	While the National Archives is proposing to reorganise its specialist staff teams, they will continue to deliver the same level and quality of services their researchers currently receive. The outcome of the proposed changes is that they will make it easier for these teams to work together to support the changing needs of their researchers.
	The National Archives currently opens its on-site facilities six days a week, and it is proposing to close on Mondays in order to allow some shift of its resources to support customers who use the service online. The Lord Chancellor and the Minister of State fully support this proposed reduction. Closing an extra day will allow the organisation to expand its online services whilst continuing to offer world-class on-site services. The decision was not taken lightly. Monday was specifically chosen as it is one of the quietest days of the week in terms of customer usage and allows the National Archives to continue to provide services to those who can only visit on evenings and weekends.
	The National Archives will continue to work with its partners in support of its strategic priorities. This will include educational visits offered to universities, including the services offered in Kew. It will be continuing to invest also in improving the services offered online, such as podcasts and videoconferencing. Equally, there are no current plans to relocate from Kew.
	The National Archives offers services to researchers both at its site in Kew and also online. At the Kew site, although the organisation proposes to close on Mondays, the quality of the service on other days will remain excellent. However, most researchers, whether academic or not, now wish to conduct research online, at a time and place which suits them. There is increasing demand for digitisation of material and excellent online services. The rationale behind the closure on Mondays is to allow the organisation to shift a higher proportion of its resources behind supporting online use of its material. The National Archives has already digitised, and provided electronic access to, significant amounts of important historical content, and is committed to doing more.
	The proposals will also ensure that the National Archives is best equipped to meet the challenge of ensuring that government records, which are all now created digitally, will survive until they are available for use by researchers in the future.

National Star College

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to review the funding of the National Star College.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: National Star College is an independent specialist college providing courses and support for a wide range of disabled learners. Its funding sources are principally from the Learning and Skills Council, which approves funding for learners based on learning difficulty assessments and the college's own assessment processes. The funding received is based on learner numbers, and in the last year for which figures are available there were 144 learners and the college received £11,733,557.
	There are no plans to review revenue funding arrangements, which are the same as those applied to all other independent specialist colleges.
	The college was not one of the 13 projects announced by the LSC in its recent prioritisation exercise for capital funding. However, the LSC will work with the college to explore potential options.

Northern Ireland Office: Board Level Diversity Champions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how Board Level Diversity Champions were appointed for the Northern Ireland Office; by whom; according to what criteria; and when.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Permanent Secretary and other members of the Northern Ireland Office's departmental board volunteered to be diversity champions for underrepresented groups in the NIO. This supports the NIO's strategic approach to improving diversity and equality in the department. There are board-level champions for lesbian, gay and transgender staff; black and ethnic-minority staff; disabled staff and staff with caring responsibilities. Two members of the board also co-chair the NIO's Diversity Steering Group.
	I was delighted that the NIO was shortlisted for the Business in the Community Responsible Employer award 2009, partly in recognition of the department's diversity agenda.

Northern Ireland Office: Criminal Justice Directorate

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Northern Ireland Office's Criminal Justice Directorate is monitored and assessed against its objectives; by whom; when; and according to what criteria.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The departmental board monitors and assesses the Criminal Justice Directorate each quarter against its objectives as set out in the departmental plan. It assesses whether the current year's objectives have been or are on track to be met either in full or partially. The directorate monitors itself quarterly through its own directorate business plan.

Northern Ireland Office: Legal Adviser

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Northern Ireland Office Legal Adviser's branch is monitored; by whom; when; and how that branch's client satisfaction level is calculated.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Northern Ireland Office Legal Adviser's Branch (NIOLAB) reports to the Crown Solicitor. The work of NIOLAB is monitored regularly by the head of NIOLAB and the Crown Solicitor. NIOLAB's service to Northern Ireland Office (NIO) clients is kept under regular discussion with clients and the Crown Solicitor. In addition, NIOLAB has conducted surveys of NIO clients to assess the level of client satisfaction with the service provided.

Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 6 July (WA 112), whether their response to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's advice will include proposals for parity of esteem for Ulster Scots customs, language and history.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: I have nothing further to add to my Answer of 6 July 2009, Official Report, col. WA 112.

Northern Ireland: Human Rights Commission

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2 July (WA 91) concerning funding from Atlantic Philanthropies for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, what was the nugatory work referred to by the Northern Ireland Office; and what was the alternative project submitted by the commission.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's proposal to produce a draft Bill of Rights was considered to be nugatory work, since if a decision were taken to legislate on a Bill of Rights then any legislation would need to be drafted by parliamentary counsel. This was set out in a letter from the Northern Ireland Office to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission which, as I made clear in my Answer of 2 July, Official Report, col. WA 91, has been placed in the Library of the House.

Northern Ireland: Judicial Appointments Ombudsman

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Ombudsman has cost in each year since the creation of the office.

Lord Bach: The Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Ombudsman was appointed on 25 September 2006. Between 25 September 2006 and 31 March 2007 the costs of his office amounted to £60,146. During the period 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008 the costs were £108,862 and between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2009 they amounted to £111,088.

Olympic Games 2012

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the relationship between the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority; whether there have been transactions between them; and, if so, what transactions.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) is a private company limited by guarantee. LOCOG prepares and stages the 2012 Games. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is a non-departmental public body established by Section 3 of the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006. The ODA's main responsibilities are to build the new venues and infrastructure for the Games and their use after 2012. The two organisations share a headquarters in Canary Wharf and together are branded "London 2012". Details of the transactions between them are set out in their published annual reports and accounts. LOCOG's annual reports are publicly available from Companies House, as well as being published. on its website: www.london20l2.com. Its last annual report is at: http://www.london20l2.com/documents/locog-publications/locog-annual-report-2008.pdf. Copies of the ODA's annual reports and accounts are in the Libraries of both Houses of Parliament.

Olympic Games 2012

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the remuneration and expenses packages of senior executives of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, including possible severance payments and pension arrangements.

Lord Davies of Oldham: As a private company limited by guarantee, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) sets out remuneration arrangements in its annual report, which is publicly available from Companies House, as well as being published on the company's website: www.london2012.com. The last annual report is at http://www.london20l2.com/documents/locog-publications/locog-annual-report-2008.pdf. The annual report for the 2008-09 financial year will be presented to the LOCOG board later this month and will be filed at Companies House shortly thereafter. A copy will be sent to the noble Lord.

Olympic Games 2012: Broadcasting

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games has entered into any contract for television rights to the Olympics; and, if so, what are the terms and conditions of such contracts.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The broadcast of audio and video of the Olympic Games, including over the internet, television, radio (including digital radio), mobile and other digital platforms, forms part of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s intellectual property rights.
	The IOC has sold the rights to the 2012 Olympic Games. A proportion of this revenue is passed by the IOC to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), a private company limited by guarantee and this revenue forms part of LOCOG's £2 billion privately-financed budget.

Olympic Games 2012: Shooting and Equestrian Events

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House all documents and reports from KPMG and CLM concerning the selection of venues for shooting and equestrian events at the 2012 London Olympics.

Lord Davies of Oldham: A redacted summary version of the KPMG report that informed the Olympic board's decision was published and placed in the House Library. Because of the continuing commercial sensitivity of information contained within the report, I am unable to publish a full copy at this time.
	The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority have also held several briefing sessions with a number of MPs and Peers and are happy to undertake further meetings to explain the rationale behind the Olympic board's decision, as are the British Olympic Association and British Shooting. British Shooting has accepted that Bisley is not a viable option for the 2012 events and will work with London 2012 on legacy for the sport.

Parades: Northern Ireland

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the strategic review of parading in Northern Ireland to report.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The Strategic Review of Parading issued an interim report in April 2008. Since then the group has consulted extensively across Northern Ireland and is still compiling a final report. I hope the work of the group will be completed shortly.

Parish Councils

Lord Swinfen: To ask Her Majesty's Government under what statutory provision a parish councillor can be removed from office by a district council in which the parish is situated for having signed an incorrect "declaration of acceptance of office" inadvertently provided by the clerk to the parish.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The statutory provisions for a parish councillor to sign a declaration of acceptance of office are set out in Section 83 of the Local Government Act 1972. The declaration is delivered in a form prescribed by the Secretary of State in the Local Elections (Declaration of Acceptance of Office) Order 2001 (No. 3941). Statute provides that any failure to make this declaration results in the office becoming vacant.

Parish Councils

Baroness Scott of Needham Market: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps Communities and Local Government has taken to provide training for parish councillors in areas in recently created unitary councils.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Communities and Local Government provides support to the national training strategy for town and parish councils, administered by the National Association of Local Councils, for the appropriate training of parish councillors in all areas of England, including areas of the new unitary councils.

Parliaments: Secondments

Viscount Waverley: To ask the Chairman of Committees whether consideration will be given to establishing an outreach programme whereby serving and retired officials are seconded to overseas parliaments to advise on legislative drafting and parliamentary procedures.

Lord Brabazon of Tara: The Overseas Offices of both Houses arrange inward visits by officials from other parliaments. These programmes include a general introduction to procedure. In addition, serving or former Clerks sometimes provide procedural and other kinds of assistance to Commonwealth parliaments upon request.
	Members and officials from Commonwealth and other parliaments take part in the Westminster Seminar on Parliamentary Practice and Procedures, the International Parliamentary Governance Seminar, workshops and exchanges organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK branch (CPA UK) at Westminster and in partner parliaments. These activities involve Members, officials and occasionally retired officials from both Houses. The CPA International Secretariat also arranges legislative drafting seminars.
	Clerks and other officials are involved with Members in the parliamentary strengthening activities of the Westminster Consortium (TWC), which comprises CPA UK, the House of Commons Overseas Office, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and a number of other organisations.

Parliaments: Sittings Days

Viscount Tenby: To ask Her Majesty's Government what were the number of sitting days of (a) the House of Commons Chamber, (b) Westminster Hall, (c) the House of Lords Chamber, (d) the House of Lords Grand Committee, and (e) the European Parliament Plenary Session, in (1) the 2007-08 Parliamentary Session, (2) the 2008 calendar year, and (3) the 2008-09 financial year.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The information requested is set out in the table below:
	
		
			 Number of Sitting Days 
			 Sitting Days 2007-08 Session Calendar Year 2008 2008-09 Financial Year 
			 European Parliament Plenary Session 51.5 48 51.5 
			 House of Commons Chamber 165 150 147 
			 House of Commons, Westminster Hall 109 99 97 
			 House of Lords Chamber 164 148 147 
			 House of Lords, Grand Committee 75 69 65

Passports

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the passport office was opened in Omagh, Co Tyrone; whether it is proposed to close that office; and in what way the existence of that office was made known to the local community.

Lord West of Spithead: The IPS interview office in Omagh opened on 12 December 2007. At the time of opening it was one of a network of 68 offices across the United Kingdom that were designed to undertake passport interviews for first-time adult passport applicants.
	Customer demand at this office has been much lower than anticipated. After due consideration, we have taken the decision to close a number of offices in order to maintain the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations. The last date on which Omagh will be offering appointments is 24 August 2009 and the office will be vacated shortly after this date.
	We have not actively promoted the location of the office in the community, because the office is for pre-arranged appointments only and delivers no other passport services. However, when calling our call centre, customers are offered the office closest to their home or work. Press releases were issued to local media when the offices opened and the address of all sites is on the Directgov website.

Passports

Lord Kilclooney: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the passport office was opened in Armagh City; what signage that office has on the external walls of the buildings in which it is located; whether the signage allows local people to find the office; and in what way the existence of that office is advertised to the local community.

Lord West of Spithead: The IPS office in Armagh opened on 21 November 2007. It does not have external signage. The office provides an interview facility for first-time adult passport applicants by appointment. It delivers no other passport service.
	Applicants using the office are provided written or verbal directions to the site when selecting their preferred interview date. Applicants are additionally able to reference detailed location maps via IPS's Directgov web portal. When introducing its revised application process, IPS sought to distinguish between "interview only" and "regional issuing" offices so as not to mislead other applicant types into believing that emergency travel documents or related services could be delivered from offices such as Armagh.

Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Police Service of Northern Ireland did not guard the three houses occupied by Romanians in south Belfast that were recently attacked; and what assessment they have made of whether the police involvement in later events contributed to the victims' departure from Northern Ireland.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: As this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I have asked him to reply directly to the noble Lord, and will arrange for a copy of the letter to be placed in the Library of the House.
	I do not believe that operational decisions taken by the PSNI contributed to the decision to leave Northern Ireland.

Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there was an objection by another Government to allowing evidence to be produced in the prosecution of Larry Zaitschek for the break-in at Castlereagh police station; if so, when that objection was made; and by which Government.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The statement issued by the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland gives a full account of the circumstances of this case. The Government are not able to comment further on the reasons behind the disclosure difficulties in this case.

Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any effect on the timing of the devolution of policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly of the discontinuation of the prosecution of Larry Zaitschek for the break-in at Castlereagh police station and other recent major cases in Northern Ireland where prosecutions have been unsuccessful.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: The timing of devolution remains for the Assembly to agree, as set out in Section 4 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Police: Northern Ireland

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role played by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland in recent major cases where prosecutions have been discontinued or unsuccessful; and whether they have any proposals to reinforce those services prior to the devolution of policing and justice to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: It is good practice for all organisations regularly to review their effectiveness, including after major cases. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) regularly reviews investigations for lessons learned. A report into a follow-up inspection of the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPS) was published in June 2009. The inspection was carried out by Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate under delegated statutory authority from the Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice for Northern Ireland. This concluded that core prosecutorial decision-making in the PPS remains sound.
	There are no plans to reinforce either the PSNI or the PPS prior to devolution.

Polygamy

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many polygamous households unlawful under United Kingdom law they estimate exist under Islamic law in the United Kingdom; and what steps they are taking to reduce the number of such households and prevent others in future.

Lord Bach: The Government are unable to estimate the number of unlawful polygamous households that exist under Islamic law in the UK. Polygamous marriage is not supported or condoned by the Government, and it is not possible to contract a polygamous marriage that will be legally recognised in England and Wales, nor is it possible for anyone domiciled in England and Wales to enter into a legally recognised polygamous marriage overseas. It is a criminal offence for anyone knowingly to enter into a second or subsequent legally recognised marriage while still legally married. Any such marriage would be bigamous and void under our laws.
	If people enter into purely religious marriages in ceremonies that do not comply with UK marriage law, these marriages will be recognised by that religion, but not by the state. A separate civil ceremony will be required if the marriage is to be accepted as valid under the law of England and Wales. Polygamous marriages are not valid and a separate civil ceremony would not alter this position.
	The Government believe that the most practical and effective way of ensuring that people who enter Islamic marriages are protected is to encourage the registration of mosques and imams for the purpose of carrying out marriages that comply with, and will be recognised under, the Marriage Act. We are currently working to achieve this and to raise awareness, particularly amongst Muslim women of the formalities required for a legally recognised marriage in England and Wales.

Polygamy

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many maintenance orders, applications under the Children Act 1989, domestic violence injunctions and women's refuges relate to Islamic polygamous households.

Lord Bach: Her Majesty's Court Service does not currently record data on the ethnicity or religion of parties to family court proceedings.
	Information with regard to the provision of women's refuges is not collected centrally.

Polygamy

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they intend to introduce to prevent polygamous households where there is a divorce of convenience under United Kingdom law but an Islamic marriage under Sharia law.

Lord Bach: The Government's policy of preventing the formation of polygamous households in the UK is very largely achieved by Section 2 of the Immigration Act 1988 and paragraphs 278 and 279 of the Immigration Rules. It is government policy to prevent the formation of polygamous households in this country.
	However, entry clearance may not be withheld from a second wife where the husband has divorced his previous wife. The Government are not aware of divorce being used as a means of creating polygamous households. The UK Border Agency has stated that they are going to look at their guidance and whether any changes are required.

Polygamy

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will revise chapter 13.20 of the UK Border Agency's Entry Clearance Guidance which reads: "Even where it is suspected that a divorce of convenience has taken place and that a man is continuing to live with a previous wife, entry clearance cannot be withheld from a second wife, even if a polygamous household will be created as a result".

Lord West of Spithead: The layout of the UK Border Agency Entry Clearance Guidance relating to polygamous spouses was altered with effect from 25 June 2009, and the relevant section is now SET14.8. This replicates in substance the guidance at Immigration Directorates Instruction chapter 8 annexe C subsection 8. My officials are not aware of any divorces of convenience but will consider whether changes to the guidance are required.

Post Office: Staff

Lord Dykes: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to encourage the Post Office management to alter its relations with its workforce whilst the Postal Services Bill is still before Parliament.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The Hooper report highlighted the poor industrial relations that exist in Royal Mail. One of the Government's criteria for a potential partner was the capacity to manage stakeholder issues successfully including relations with the trade unions. Now that it has not been possible to secure a partner in the current market conditions, the Government are looking to the management and the unions to take forward the modernisation of the company. We encourage both the management and the unions to work together to achieve this.

Prisoners: Parole

Lord Corbett of Castle Vale: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners in England and Wales are overdue parole hearings.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the shortest and longest delays for prisoners eligible for parole whose hearings are overdue.

Lord Bach: As at 31 May 2009, there were 1,904 prisoners overdue a parole hearing. Of those 1,904, the shortest delay for a parole hearing was one month. The longest delays were for 14 prisoners whose target date for their parole hearing was January 2008. However, these cases have now been reviewed and are awaiting reports about the prisoner's individual progress.

Racial Hatred

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the allegedly Islamophobic attack of a lady in Dresden by a right-wing extremist; and how they intend to protect the religious minority communities in the United Kingdom.

Lord West of Spithead: The Government deplore all violence and particularly violent crime which is motivated by hatred. They are not, however, in a position to make specific assessments of offences committed abroad where neither the victim nor the offender are UK citizens.
	The Government are determined to protect all UK citizens from violence, whatever their race or religion. We have robust police and prosecution policies, and police forces continue to be alert to crimes being committed against members of all faith communities and take appropriate steps to safeguard people and property. There are laws to tackle a range of racially or religiously aggravated offences which require sentencers to consider an increased sentence, and there are also laws against incitement to racial or religious hatred.

Racial Hatred

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people have been convicted of offences of racial hatred under (a) the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006; and (b) Sections 17—23 of the Public Order Act 1986.

Lord West of Spithead: Available information provided by the Ministry of Justice, covering the period from 2004 to 2007 (latest available) is provided in the attached table.
	
		
			 Number of persons found guilty at all courts for selected sections of the Public Order Act 1986, and the Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 (1)(2) 
			  Year 
			  2004 2005 2006 2007 
			 Public Order Act 1986(3) 
			 Section 18(4) 2 1 3 7 
			 Section 19(5) - 6 2 - 
			 Section 21(6) - 1 - - 
			 Section 22(7) 1 1 2 - 
			 Section 23(8) - - - 2 
			 Total 3 9 7 9 
			 Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 : : : - 
		
	
	: Not applicable.
	(1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	(2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
	(3). There were no persons found guilty for Sections 17 or 20.
	Offence description:
	(4). Use of words or behaviour or display of written material intended or likely to stir up racial hatred.
	(5). Publishing or distributing written material intended or likely to stir up racial hatred.
	(6). Distributing, showing or playing a recording intended or likely to stir up racial hatred.
	(7). Broadcasting or including a programme in programme service intended or likely to stir up racial hatred.
	(8). Possession of a racially inflammatory piece of material.
	Source: Evidence and Analysis Unit—Office for Criminal Justice Reform
	IOS Ref: 376-09

Railways: Eurostar

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the average track access charges for a Eurostar train travelling between London St Pancras and the Channel Tunnel; what changes are proposed in the Network statement for HS1 out for consultation; and whether the proposed charges will address the comments in the European Commission State Aids Decision IP 09.761, dated 13 May 2009, that the existing charges are financially unsustainable.

Lord Adonis: Under the existing charging regime, each Eurostar service between London St Pancras International and the Channel Tunnel pays approximately £2,000 in operating maintenance and renewal charges (OMRC) and £8,000 in other access charges. The charges proposed in the current network statement for High Speed 1 would amount to circa £1,500 OMRC and a circa £2,200 investment recovery charge.
	The Government believe that this will address the issues, highlighted by the European Commission, relating to financial sustainability of the existing charges, a view supported by the Commission in approving the changes to state aid necessary to financially restructure High Speed 1 and so deliver these significantly reduced charges.

Railways: Franchises

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the parent company loan obligations in the agreements for each of the current railway franchises.

Lord Adonis: Details of all franchise agreements that are not deemed to be market sensitive are published in the Public Register at www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/passenger/public register.
	Information pertaining to loan arrangements between individual franchisees and their parent organisations are a matter for the parties to those agreements.

Reforming Financial Markets

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Myners on 9 July (HL Deb, cols. 780—1), whether they foresee overall control of the United Kingdom's financial system and its supervision resting with the European Union or with Parliament.

Lord Myners: The European Commission has confirmed that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions should remain at the member state level.

Reforming Financial Markets

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Myners on 9 July (HL Deb, cols. 780—1), what system of voting will apply in the European Union Council of Ministers when finalising proposals for European Union-wide supervision of national financial institutions.

Lord Myners: The European Commission has indicated its intention to use Article 95 of the EC treaty as the legal basis for its proposals to establish a European System of Financial Supervisors, which requires qualified majority voting in the Council of Ministers. The European Commission has confirmed that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions should remain at the member state level.

Reforming Financial Markets

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the answer by Lord Myners on 9 July (HL Deb, cols. 780-1), whether they have power to prevent overall control of the United Kingdom's financial system and its supervision passing to the European Union; and, if so, whether they will exercise that power.

Lord Myners: The European Commission has indicated its intention to use Article 95 of the EC treaty as the legal basis for its proposals to establish a European System of Financial Supervisors. The European Commission has confirmed that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions should remain at the member state level.

Roads: Surfacing

Lord Patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Adonis on 15 July (WA 239), whether any stretches of the A303 trunk road between Mere and Hazlegrove Roundabout have been resurfaced with "low noise" surfacing in the past five years.

Lord Adonis: One stretch of the A303 trunk road between Mere and Hazlegrove roundabout has been resurfaced with "low noise" surfacing in the past five years. This was from the end of the A303 Mere bypass to the A303 Hazlegrove roundabout (0.9 miles), with the work being done in four sections between March 2005 and November 2006.

Royal Society Enterprise Fund

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will allocate part of the £750 million strategic investment fund for supporting businesses announced in the Budget to the Royal Society Enterprise Fund.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: The SIF is intended to support advanced industrial projects of strategic importance, of which £250 million has been set aside for low-carbon initiatives, £75 million for the Innovation Investment Fund, a further £50 million for the Technology Strategy Board and £10 million to promote UK sector expertise through UK Trade and Investment. However, there are no plans to allocate money from the Strategic Investment Fund (SIF to the Royal Society Enterprise Fund.
	The Department for Business Innovation and Skills already supports a range of equity investment activities through Capital for Enterprise; the Government's arm's-length body for the delivery of equity investments to support businesses.
	The Government through Enterprise Capital Funds invests with a mix of private and public money in small high growth businesses that are seeking up to £2 million in risk capital.

Rural Payments Agency

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government what rules are applied by the Rural Payments Agency in calculating land areas where the boundaries consist of (a) a watercourse, or (b) a hedge, and the adjoining land is owned by a different person or organisation.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Rural Payments Agency applies rules laid down in EU regulations relating to the administration of the single payment scheme (SPS). England has adopted the physical block model, which is consistent with Ordnance Survey mapping and requires that land parcels should be bounded by permanent physical features such as hedges, fences and watercourses. The rules are applied regardless of parcel ownership.
	The width of a boundary feature, such as a hedge or watercourse, is significant as it could be ineligible for the SPS. Where the feature is over 4 metres in width the whole feature is ineligible. Where it is 4 metres or less in width, an area up to a maximum 2-metre width can be included within each adjoining parcel for the SPS.

Rural Payments Agency

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Rural Payments Agency, in issuing new Rural Land Register maps, has updated older information; and, if so, how this has been done.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The Rural Payments Agency has used the most recent Ordnance Survey data available, in conjunction with aerial photography to update the rural land register maps. This includes improving the positional accuracy of our map data and reflecting any real world change recorded by Ordnance Survey.
	Where necessary changes have been identified, older information has been manually updated using digitisation techniques.

Schools: Sport

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will place a copy of the School Sport Partnerships Impact Study 2003—2008 in the Library of the House.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Copies of the executive summaries of the School Sport Partnerships Impact Study 2003-08 will be placed in the Libraries of the House shortly.

Shipping: Light Dues

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government why Raven Trading Ltd were instructed not to consult shipping companies during their investigation The Impact of Light Dues Increases; and why that instruction was given.

Lord Adonis: Neither the Department for Transport nor Trinity House gave any instruction to Raven Trading not to consult shipping companies.

Sir Alan Sugar

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is a necessary condition of Sir Alan Sugar's appointment as the Enterprise Champion that he should also be appointed as a member of the House of Lords.

Lord Young of Norwood Green: It is not.

Sri Lanka

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much aid they have committed to Sri Lanka; for how long; and through whom it is routed.

Lord Brett: In the last five years, the UK has funded a total of £42 million of development assistance and conflict prevention projects in Sri Lanka. The Department for International Development's (DfID) bilateral aid programme was closed in 2007 following Sri Lanka's graduation to middle-income status. However, we recognise that there are many people in great need, especially those affected by the recent conflict. Since September 2008, DfID has committed £12.5 million of humanitarian assistance to support ongoing efforts of United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross and humanitarian agencies. No humanitarian assistance is provided directly to the Government of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have committed to undertake any specific project in the northern provinces of Sri Lanka; and, if so, what.

Lord Brett: I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 14 July (Official Report; col. WS 75). This outlines the Department for International Development's position on humanitarian and early recovery assistance to those internally displaced persons in the northern province of Sri Lanka. Our early recovery work will include support for demining, and we stand by ready to support funds for humanitarian demining agencies with strong capacity in-country such as the mines action group.

Sri Lanka

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what reports they have received about access to the internally displaced persons camps in northern Sri Lanka by international humanitarian agencies.

Lord Brett: The latest assessment from our humanitarian adviser in Colombo is that international humanitarian agencies, including the United Nations (UN), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and NGOs, continue to have improved access to the sites in Vavuniya. There is significant military presence in many of the zones, with cordon and search activities, and highly controlled movement between the sites. We continue to press the Government of Sri Lanka for full and unrestricted access for the UN, the ICRC and NGOs to enable them to provide humanitarian assistance to all internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka.
	I refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement made on 14 July (Official Report; col. WS 75). This sets out our current position on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka.

Swine Flu

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether sufficient field trials and safety checks will take place to ensure any potential to contract Guillain-Barré syndrome from the prospective swine flu vaccine is discounted before the vaccine is administered.

Lord Darzi of Denham: Studies of seasonal influenza vaccines since 1976 have found no robust evidence of an increased risk of contracting Guillain-Barré syndrome, including a recent United Kingdom study covering the last 15 years of flu vaccine.
	Detailed pharmacovigilance plans are in place for when the swine flu pandemic vaccination programme is introduced in the UK. This work, co-ordinated by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, will monitor age and sex-specific background incidence rates for a wide range of illnesses, including Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Swine Flu

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government who will adm8inister the prospective vaccine against swine flu; how many patients are expected to be given the vaccine in one week by each practitioner; how those qualified to administer the vaccine will be paid; and in what order patients will be given the vaccine.

Lord Darzi of Denham: The details of the implementation of the swine flu vaccination programme are currently being finalised. We are working with the National Health Service and other colleagues to ensure that the programme is robust. We have not yet taken a final decision on the prioritisation of the population. This will be made on the basis of epidemiological evidence, vaccine supply and protecting the capacity of the NHS.

Swine Flu

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans are in place to close departments in the event that swine flu becomes an epidemic affecting departments.

Lord Darzi of Denham: All departments and agencies are fully engaged in the Government's business continuity programme, which includes public, private and voluntary sector organisations.
	Following the World Health Organisation's announcement of WHO phase 6, the Government produced supplementary human resources guidance reiterating reasonable worst-case planning assumptions to aid business continuity preparations for use by all government departments and agencies.
	In particular, departments employing large numbers of people, with flexibility of staff redeployment, are planning for cumulative staff absence rates of up to 15 per cent over a two to three-week period. Smaller departments, or larger organisations with small critical teams, are planning for a level of absence rising to 30 to 35 per cent.
	Departments and agencies are keeping staff up to date on the current situation and continue to promote good personal hygiene, reminding individuals to stay away from work if they are unwell. There is no presumption that departments and agencies would close as a result of swine flu, but effective business continuity management will help to ensure the continuity of critical functions in the event of any disruption and effective recovery afterwards.

Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the owner of premises can request a second opinion from another veterinary inspector if one inspector has a suspicion as referred to in Regulation 9(1) of the Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1299).

Lord Davies of Oldham: Veterinary inspectors are trained to recognise signs of notifiable exotic animal diseases, and will always consult colleagues in the Veterinary Exotic Notifiable Diseases Unit before confirming that a premises is under suspicion. This process of consultation has an inbuilt challenge function.
	Where there is any suspicion of a notifiable exotic animal disease, it is important to act quickly to contain any disease on the premises and minimise the risk of further spread. It is in the interests of the wider farming industry that restrictions are placed on the suspect premises as soon as possible.
	Whilst the owner of the premises would not have recourse to a second opinion, testing methods employed mean it is normally possible to negate disease and lift restrictions within 48 hours of samples being received at the reference laboratory (Institute of Animal Health, Pirbright). The pig keeper may still wish to confirm what the cause of the health problem was if the suspicion of swine vesicular disease was ruled out.

Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the owner of premises can receive compensation if Regulation 9(7) of the Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1299) applies.

Lord Davies of Oldham: Compensation is only paid for animals which are slaughtered because they are affected or suspected of being affected with swine vesicular disease or had been exposed to infection. It is longstanding government policy not to compensate for consequential losses. Therefore no compensation will be payable when restrictions on suspect premises are lifted under Regulation 9(7) of the Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations 2009.

Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Secretary of State will decide whether to exercise Regulation 10(3)(a) or 10(3)(b) of the Swine Vesicular Disease Regulations 2009 (SI 2009/1299); and whether the pig keeper will be given an opportunity to make representations about that decision.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The decision on whether to exercise Regulation 10(3)(a) or 10(3)(b) would be made based on a veterinary risk assessment that takes into account the degree of exposure of the contact premises with the infected premises, and the risk that disease virus would have been transferred.
	The pig keeper of the contact premises would input essential information into this assessment themselves as part of the data-gathering process. Killing pigs on contact premises is not a decision taken lightly and this is a judgment for veterinary experts.
	Where the owner of stock classified as dangerous contacts does not agree with the decision, they may ask the divisional veterinary manager, or their nominated deputy, to review the decision to cull. However, if culling is deemed necessary and the Secretary of State considers the necessary veterinary evidence is present, it is important that killing takes place quickly in order to minimise risk of disease spread.

Taxation: Income Tax

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Myners on 9 July (WA 174), what are the procedures to determine who is a Scottish taxpayer; how such procedures would operate; and how they would be implemented.

Lord Myners: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) would implement any change to the basic rate of income tax as provided by the Scotland Act 1988 (the "Scottish Variable Rate") through pay as you earn (PAYE) and self-assessment.
	The Scotland Act 1988 sets out the rules that determine whether an individual is a Scottish taxpayer for a tax year. HMRC would initially identify a Scottish taxpayer on the basis of their address and postcode as recorded on their income tax records.
	Where a Scottish taxpayer is in receipt of earnings from employment or a pension, and therefore within PAYE, HMRC would issue a notice of coding to their employer or pension provider indicating that the employer should deduct income tax from their pay or pension by reference to an alternative set of tax tables that would include the Scottish Variable Rate.
	Where Scottish taxpayers are subject to self assessment, because they are engaged in a trade or are company directors or have complex tax affairs, they could complete the relevant box in their self assessment tax return to identify themselves as Scottish taxpayers.
	The tax collected through PAYE and self assessment from Scottish taxpayers would be passed to the Scottish Executive.
	HMRC would deal with any appeals against a decision that an individual was a Scottish taxpayer under its existing independent appeals process.
	Full details of the whole process will not be finalised until after the Scottish Variable Rate has been invoked.

Terrorism

Lord Ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken following the seizure of explosives and weapons from right-wing extremist groups.

Lord West of Spithead: Her Majesty's Government do not take decisions whether or not to prosecute an individual. This is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service, who do so on the basis of the evidence available to them relating to an offence.

Twinning Associations

Lord King of West Bromwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support is available to Twinning Associations to encourage their activities, in particular in relation to developing countries.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Local Government Association's Local Government International Bureau, which this year receives nearly £1.8 million support from Her Majesty's Government, offers guidance to local authorities on international twinning and partnerships.

UN: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 29 June (WA 25-6), whether the Northern Ireland Executive was entitled to send its own delegation to Geneva for the examination by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and, if not, whether it was invited to send an official to join those from the other devolved Administrations on the United Kingdom delegation.

Lord Bach: The United Nations examines delegations only from its member states, which in this case is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In accordance with usual practice, all the devolved Administrations within the United Kingdom were invited by the Ministry of Justice to send officials to join the United Kingdom delegation.

UN: Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Bach on 24 June (WA 29), whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the e-mails and correspondence they had with departments of the Northern Ireland Executive about the May 2009 consideration by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the combined fourth to fifth periodic report on the United Kingdom.

Lord Bach: We are in the process of compiling the requested material and I will write to the noble Lord in due course. However, some of it may be exempt from disclosure under freedom of information legislation.